Please select your home edition
Edition
Allen Dynamic 40 Leaderboard

Team NZL Olympic Sailing Daily Wrap 19 August

by Jodie Bakewell-White on 19 Aug 2008
Andrew Murdoch (NZL) - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz


Today saw the conclusion of the Laser and Laser Radial classes,with Gold going to GBR and USA, race ten and the end of the opening series for the windsurfers and no racing for the Tornado and Star classes.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

3rd - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 10 races)
6th - Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 10 races)
7th - Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 7 races)

5th - Andrew Murdoch, Laser (Final Result)
7th - Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (Final Result)
11th - Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (Final result)
12th Dan Slater, Finn (Final result)

The stage is set for an almighty battle for the men’s windsurfing medals at the 2008 Olympic Games with kiwi Tom Ashley right in the mix. Just one point separates the top three in the men’s RS:X class - France’s Julian Bontemps, Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey and New Zealand’s Tom Ashley going into their medal race set to be sailed tomorrow off Qingdao.

Andrew Murdoch has finished 5th overall in the Laser class which wrapped up today the gold medal secured by Great Britain’s Paul Goodison, adding the third Olympic sailing gold for his nation at this Games. Olympic debutante Murdoch won today’s Laser medal race in front of a spectator packed break wall which lifted him up into the top five finishers in the 40 strong fleet.

Jo Aleh has finished 7th overall in the Laser Radial class after sailing their medal race today on course A soon after the Lasers. Aleh’s medal race today was defined when she had to return to the start line fearing she was over early, and never managed to get back in the race, crossing the line in 9th place.

Barbara Kendall moved from 7th overall up to 6th place on the women’s RS:X leader board after race ten sailed today, and while the five time Olympian has booked a spot in the medal race her chances of adding a fourth Olympic medal to her collection of three has slipped away. The points gap for her to now catch up with the leaders is too great to get to the podium tomorrow.

Despite race eight getting started and more than half way through, the lack of wind on course area E saw that race abandoned, and no further racing for the Star class today.

Men’s RS:X


The top ten to sail the medal race were decided today when race ten was sailed for the Men’s RS:X fleet. Things have closed up at the top of the standings and Tom Ashley’s three point leading margin after race nine has disappeared after he finished towards the back of the fleet today in very light conditions on course area B.

Ashley started well at the pin end forcing the others to tack away however after choosing to stay on the left the kiwi suffered dramatically when a 30 degree wind shift hit the course.

The kiwi discards his result from today, while those close on his tail in the standings both managed a decent finish in the race sailed today. Julien Bontemps of France now has the overall lead on 45 points while Nick Dempsey GBR and Ashley are both on 46 points, so it all comes down to tomorrows double-points medal race.

Neither Bontemps, Ashley or Dempsey is far enough ahead of the fleet on points to be assured of a medal just yet. Also in with a shot at a podium finish is early competition leader, Shahar Zubari of Israel. Zubari posted a 4th place in today’s race and is nine points back from Dempsey and Ashley, so a top medal race for him, combined with a poor performance for one of the leading trio could see him climb up.

Further back Ricardo Santos on 65 points has 5th place ahead of the deciding race tomorrow which leaves him an extreme outside chance to close the gap to the podium, though it’s near on impossible.

The Men’s and Women’s RS:X races will be sailed tomorrow with a scheduled start time of 1 o’clock local time.

Men’s RS:X (provisional)
Top five standings going into the medal race

1st FRA Julien Bontemps - 45 points
2nd GBR Nick Dempsey - 46 points
3rd NZL Tom Ashley - 46 points
4th ISR Shahar Zubari - 54 points
5th BRA Ricardo Santos - 65 points


Women’s RS:X


The women’s RS:X fleet rounded out their ten race series today with Barbara Kendall finishing 21st in the race. Today’s race becomes her discard and she manages to leap frog Klepacka of Poland into 6th place.

Despite advancing up the standings Kendall appears to be out of range of the podium with a 22 point gap up to the 3rd placed Shaw of GBR. Alessandra Sensini today relinquished the overall lead to Jian Yin of China, who won today’s race, a master in the extreme light conditions.

Women’s RS:X
Top six standings going into the medal race

1st CHN Jian Yin - 33 points
2nd ITA Alessandra Sensini - 38 points
3rd GBR Bryony Shaw - 41 points
4th AUS Jessica Crisp - 46 points
5th ESP Marina Alabau - 46 points
6th NZL Barbara Kendall - 63 points


Star
Light winds out on course area E where the Star class race caused delays, and eventually abandonment of all racing for the day. The 16 boat fleet has only sailed seven races so far and have only tomorrow remaining in the schedule to conclude the planned ten race series before the medal race on Thursday.

If wind doesn’t appear tomorrow the series may be shortened for the Star class, though if time and breeze allow they will go for three races tomorrow.

Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams are lying 7th overall in the fleet at this stage with a five point gap up to third placed sailors Rohart and Rambeau of France. Despite the close points on the board the talent pool in this, the oldest Olympic sailing class, is phenomenal and the kiwi boys have got a challenge on their hands to finish strongly.

Star (provisional) top seven after 7 races

1st SWE Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom - 23 points
2nd GBR Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson - 26 points
3rd FRA Xavier Rohart & Pascal Rambeau - 32 points
4th POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz & Dominik Zycki - 33 points
5th GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski - 36 points
6th POR Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos - 37 points
7th NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - 38 points


Laser
Andrew Murdoch performed best at the very start and the very end of the regatta, rounding out his first Olympic Games with a win in the medal race sailed today after also winning race nine yesterday afternoon.

In the extreme light winds Murdoch took the early lead in today’s medal race which got underway just after one o’clock off Qingdao. While GBR’s Paul Goodison was intent on doing what was required to secure gold – simply beat Rasmus Myrgren of Sweden to the finish line – Murdoch led the fleet around the course with only Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia in touch.

Goodison won gold, Zbogar lifted to take silver for Slovenia, and Diego Romero of Italy benefitted from the misfortune of Myrgren to take bronze.

A few average results during the middle of the regatta was Murdoch’s undoing, and given his standing in 12th place going into the penultimate day of racing he did well to recover from there and score a top five placing.

Laser top five final results

Gold GBR Paul Goodison
Silver SLO Vasilij Zbogar
Bronze ITA Diego Romero
4th POR Gustavo Lima
5th NZL Andrew Murdoch

Laser Radial
The Laser Radial medal deciding race followed the Laser race of course A.

Jo Aleh’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed yesterday when she slipp

Sea Sure 2025Palm Beach Motor YachtsZhik 2024 December

Related Articles

The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it?
Posted on 2 Jul
Jazz Turner Faces Everything and Rises
Non-stop, solo, unassisted British Isles navigation has captivated sailors & non-sailors alike Jazz Turner's Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin Vega 27ft yacht has captivated sailors and non-sailors alike.
Posted on 2 Jul
GKSS Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women's Trophy D3
Surprise exits in Marstrand as Quarter-Finalists decided The qualifying round-robin stages at GKSS Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand finished today with the surprise departure of defending champion USA's Chris Poole/ Riptide Racing and Switzerland's Eric Monnin/ Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team from the Open Class.
Posted on 2 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 1
Sled sparkle in Cascais' Atlantic surf to lead After seemingly being starved of boisterous top end conditions for some years now Okura's Sled crew have been relishing a return to big breezes and big waves.
Posted on 2 Jul
CSA commits to collaboration and sustainability
This year's AGM saw participation from a diverse group of stakeholders The Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) proudly announces the successful conclusion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Regatta Organizers Conference, held from June 25 to June 28, 2025, in St. Maarten.
Posted on 2 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race: Offshore classics set to race
IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it. While French round the world race legend Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (aka VDH) isn't competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, two of his former steeds will be on the IRC Zero start line.
Posted on 2 Jul
Four days to start the 5th AEGEAN 600
The fleet has a wide range of sizes and types represented Nearly all 60 teams are assembled here at the Olympic Marine venue getting ready for the start of the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Race Club (HORC) with co-organizers being Olympic Marine and Region of Attica.
Posted on 2 Jul
The Magenta Project unveils new brand identity
As part of its milestone tenth anniversary As part of its milestone tenth anniversary, The Magenta Project is excited to launch a refreshed brand identity and the first phase of its new website, reinforcing its commitment to equity and inclusion for women in sailing.
Posted on 2 Jul
Course des Caps Update: A promising start!
The eleven crews have begun their grand tour around the British Isles The Course des Caps - Boulogne-sur-Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, which set sail from the shores of northern France, marks the first race of the 2025 season and kicks off the new edition of the IMOCA Globe Series Championship.
Posted on 2 Jul
18ft Skiffs: Queensland 18 footer history
Decades of successful ideas and achievement Queensland's revival over recent seasons, which resulted in a two-pronged attack by experienced and young teams in new skiffs at the 2025 Giltinan world championship
Posted on 2 Jul