London 2012—The state of play

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 1 Aug 2012 On-the-water fortunes are being won and lost as the sound of starting signals ricochets off the rolling, bucolic hills of southern England. While plenty of sailors are quick to point out that there’s still plenty of playtime left on the clock during this Olympiad, some classes are starting to look more solidified than others.

For example, Ireland’s Annalise Murphy has managed to erect a perfect 'picket fence' of first-place finishes after four races in the Laser Radial class, commanding almost every mark rounding and establishing a twelve-point margin over her nearest rival, Belgium’s Evi Van Acker and a fourteen-point lead over third placed Marit Bouwmeester (NED). While Murphy’s lead is looking more and more unassailable as the days tick by, the battle for the second and third steps of the podium are sure to be an interesting tussle.

The Men’s Laser class is a bit more congested at the top of the heap, but it’s becoming increasingly evident that Australian Tom Slingsby is the man to beat. After four races, Slingsby leads Cypress’ Pavlos Kontides by four points; Sweden’s Rasmus Myrgren tails Kontides by ten points. 2008 Gold Medalist Paul Goodison is currently sitting in twelfth place, purportedly suffering from a bad back. It will be interesting to see if 'Goody' can rally, and if this could still impact Slingsby’s medal chances.

The Finn Class is rapidly becoming a story of Denmark’s Jonas Hogh-Christensen, who is leading Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR) by a margin of 15 points after six races. France’s Jonathan Lobert is still in the hunt in third place, three points astern of Sir Ben and 18 points shy of Hogh-Christensen’s brilliant record.

The Stars are a different matter all together. Great Britain’s Ian Percy and Andrew Simpson are leading Brazil’s Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada by a razor-thin margin of two points. Sweden’s Fredrik Loofe and Max Salminen are just six points astern of Percy and Simpson, making this gold medal anyone’s game. Stay tuned!

The Men’s RS:X class is interesting, as Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) posted two bullets, while Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) nailed two second-place finishes and Toni Wilhelm (GER) has earned two third-place finishes. Because of this, there’s only a two-point Delta between each of these sailors, making this a class to watch in the coming days.

The Women’s RS:X class is almost as tight as the Men’s windsurfers, as Marina Alabau Neira (ESP) leads Lee-Eli Korsiz (ISR) by a single point. Poland’s Zofia Noceti-Klepacka tails Neira by just four points, making this anyone’s contest. Stay tuned, as this class still has seven races to go before entering their medal contest.

For information on the 49er class click here.

And finally, in the Women’s Match Racing event, Australia’s Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty are leading Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez, Sofie Toro Prieto Puga and Angela Pumariega Menendez, while Russia’s Ekaterina Skudina, Elena Siuzeva and Elena Oblova are currently sitting in third place. Americans Anna Tunnicliffe, Debbie Capozzi and Molly Vandemoer—the runaway favorites (in my book at least!)—are currently sitting in fifth place. But, given that there are still 30 matches to go, this class is still up for grabs. Game on!

Please stay tuned to the website for more, as it unfurls.

Results:
Laser Radial:

Laser Men:

Finn Men:

Star:

RS:X Men:

RS:X Women:

Full Results