Rickham & Birrell focused on finishing on medal high at Rio 2016 Paralympics

Niki Birrell insists he and Alexandra Rickham are focused on producing their top form in the final three SKUD18 races of the Paralympic regatta to finish with the best medal they can after what he called a "bad day" in Rio.

Rickham and Birrell are currently in bronze medal position but tied on 23 points with John McRoberts and Jackie Gay (CAN) in second, who sit in the silver medal spot on countback based on the number of first, second and third places each boat has picked up.

The Brits collected fifth and fourth place finishes from the two SKUD races on the Escola Naval course today to consolidate their place in the podium spots alongside Canada. But with 2016 World Champions, Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki (POL), just six points behind with three races to come nothing can be taken for granted.

Defending London 2012 champions Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) picked up another two race wins today to extend their overall lead to 15 points, with Birrell conceding the gold medal opportunity is likely to have passed.

But he and Rickham remain desperate to go one better than the bronze they won at London 2012 with silver in Rio.

He said: "Unfortunately me and Alexandra had a bad day. We didn't get the boat going fast at all at any point and we didn't start well either. We need to bounce back for the next three races, which are really important now because it's incredibly close between second, third and fourth and no one wants to finish in fourth.

"I don't like to be negative, and anything can happen, but we put on a lot of points today unfortunately and the Australians got two firsts. They already had an eight- point lead so, I'm a positive person, but I think that's gone. The gap is too big.

"Our biggest concern is trying to sail well tomorrow and Saturday, that's all we can do, and hope that is enough for the silver."

With decent South / South Westerly breeze in Guanabara Bay, Rickham and Birrell struggled to make an impact at the front of the fleet in the day's opening race.

But in race two they demonstrated their stomach for a fight, trying to ensure they got ahead of the Canadian boat, which they achieved on the final upwind leg, before holding their position on the run to the finish line to cross the line in fourth.

The SKUD18s are scheduled to have two more races tomorrow, before one final showdown of the scheduled 11-race series on Saturday 17 September, after which the medals will be awarded. However with the closeness in the points, Birrell insists there are still too many races to try to employ specific boat-on-boat tactics.

He added: "There's three races to go so certainly in the first race tomorrow it would be foolish to do anything rash as the Poles are only six points back. If we start trying to take the Canadians out or vice versa one of us could end up with no medal."

To follow the team's fortunes at Rio 2016 visit www.rya.org.uk/Rio2016, follow @BritishSailing on Twitter and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/britishsailingteam.