Close battles as Weymouth & Portland World Cup medals set to be decided
by Lindsey Bell, RYA 12 Jun 2016 06:20 HKT
8-12 June 2016
British sailors occupy 12 podium positions heading in to Sunday's medal race day at the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland (12 June).
Five boats from Britain's ten Rio representatives take the yellow leaders' jerseys into the final day of competition, with a further seven British Sailing Team crews in podium positions ahead of the double-points final races.
With a shortened race series due to persistent light wind conditions throughout the week, tight points margins will give rise to some nail-biting battles for the medal spots at this final showdown before the Rio 2016 Games.
Olympic contenders Giles Scott, Nick Thompson, Luke Patience-Chris Grube and Ben Saxton-Nicola Groves and Charlotte Dobson-Sophie Ainsworth all lead their respective events, with Hannah Mills-Saskia Clark tied on points at the top of the 470 Women's table and Ben Cornish snapping at Scott's heels just a point behind Scott in the Finn class.
Light wind conditions prevailed on Saturday's penultimate day of competition, with racing continuing late into the evening.
Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves enjoyed the best possible scoreline in the Nacra 17, winning both of their two races around a minute ahead of their nearest rivals to take a seven point overall lead into the medal race.
"We are really happy with the way we sailed. We got two good starts which is what we we're trying to do and then when we have good starts we've the speed to win races," explained Saxton.
"It gives it great confidence [leading races] by such a long way, but I think it was a type of day where the rich get richer. When you're out there leading it makes it quite easy to extend, it was that type of day.
"It was very tricky to know which side of the course to go straight of the start line, both had their benefits but you had to keep your wits about you, keep your head and work the shifts right."
Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth sandwiched a sixth between two race wins to head in the 49erFX finale in pole position.
They have just a two point buffer ahead of Sweden's Julia Gross-Cecilia Jonsson, with Ainsworth pleased to come through a testing three-race day in good shape.
"I'm pretty relieved that the day is over actually! It has been a long day of waiting and really light. We've had pretty inconsistent conditions so it made the racing really hard so I'm really glad it's over!" said Ainsworth afterwards.
"It would be incredible to be at the top of that podium, we just need to get through tomorrow. We haven't had too many races so the fleets quite close together and it's a small fleet so it's pretty close.
Dobson added: "This is the first time we will lead going into the final day, us two, and to do it the regatta before the Games will be really exciting. To see parts of our sailing really come together is really fantastic."
Luke Patience and Chris Grube sailed a solid three races to hold on to their yellow jerseys going in to the final day. The 470 Men's pairing is tied in the standings with Spain's Jordi Xammer-Joan Herp, with Croatian World Champions Sime Fantela-Igor Marenic six points behind in bronze medal position.
"It was a really good day on the water, we had three races, a long wait for it and again just light winds like it's been all week," Patience explained.
"We were just really intense on the start line and I think we got two of the best starts in the fleet out of three of the races. We're happy with how we are sailing more than anything. Obviously it is all about the Games, so we are just really pleased with what we have done this week so far and hopefully we can win tomorrow."
Giles Scott edged one point ahead of his teammate and training partner Ben Cornish with a win in the Finn fleet's sole race of the day, while double World Champion Nick Thompson takes a single point advantage into the Laser medal race, with Elliot Hanson currently in bronze medal position after three races on Saturday.
"There were lots of points to be won and lost today so I managed to have some good comebacks and keep it low," Thompson explained.
"It would be fantastic to win here, especially home waters, with a home crowd. Obviously one point is equal points going into the medal race, but hopefully it will be a really nice showdown. I'm really pleased to see my training partner, Elliot, in third. He's had a really great regatta and it's good to see all his hard work has paid off."
In the 470 Women's event, two British teams will also start the medal race in the podium spots. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark are second overall, level on points with the leading Swiss team, while Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter are in third.
Emma Wilson and Izzy Hamilton are also second and third overall heading into the women's RS:X windsurfing finale, and sit just a point apart.
Youth Worlds silver medallist Wilson was pleased with her three races, picking up three second places.
"Yesterday I was overcomplicating it a bit but today I sailed my own race, had to cover people when I was ahead, while yesterday I was making mistakes when I was ahead," the 17-year-old explained.
"This gives me lots of confidence going into the Europeans. I've only done a Youth medal race so it should be a really good experience."
Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign qualified for the 49er medal race in third place, ten points from the New Zealand leaders, while John Pink and Stuart Bithell are just three points from the podium spots in fourth.
Tom Squires is the leading British men's RS:X windsurfer, in fifth place going into the final day, while Alison Young will end her regatta in 15th place, missing out on the medal race cut.
Sunday's medal races, which will be screened live on BT Sport in the UK, on the BBC Sport website and online via the British Sailing Team website, will kick off from 1100hrs.
Tickets for the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland (8-12 June) – part of UK Sport's #EveryRoadtoRio major events series – are available at www.rya.org.uk/go/swcgb
Follow the British Sailing Team's latest news and updates at www.britishsailingteam.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @BritishSailing