Patience and Grube's pride in Rio Olympics show

by RYA on 17 Aug 2016 Luke Patience and Chris Grube admitted their pride at even making the 470 Men’s Medal Race after seeing their hopes of a podium finish ended despite enjoying their best day on the water in Rio today (Tuesday 16 August).

Scores of two fourths and a third saw the Brits produce their most consistent day in Guanabara Bay to move up from 10th to sixth in the overall standings.

With tomorrow’s Medal Race worth double points, the 29-point gap between themselves to Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) in third place is too great for Patience and Grube to make up.

But with the pair having only been sailing together for eight months, after Patience’s partner Elliot Willis was diagnosed with cancer in late 2015, Patience could not be happier with how they have performed in this event.

He said: “I am just so proud on how we approached today and how we executed it. I feel quite emotional right now because I am so pleased on how we raced this week.

“Two months ago we were miles off feeling like we could sail at the front of the fleet, we’ve only had eight months to prepare for this race and I am walking away with my head held high.

“Whatever happens tomorrow, I really do feel today was one of our finest executions of what we had to do when it mattered. It’s a very pleasing day, we didn’t come here to finish fourth or anything but there is always something to take away.

“It’s been a tricky week, as it was always going to be. I can think of three moments through the whole week’s racing, coulda, shoulda, woulda, that might have changed our fortunes but that is the beauty of hindsight and the curse of it as well. We’ve exceeded what we should be doing with eight months of work together.”

All school children can try sailing for free in Patience’s home nation at Yorkhill Quay on the River Clyde, Glasgow as part of the RYA’s Sail for Gold Roadshows from 10am tomorrow and Thursday.

All comers are then invited to watch the 470 Men’s Medal Race and cheer the Brits on with friends, family and members of the British Sailing Team from 5pm.

At the same time as the British men were enjoying the best day of their regatta on the Ponte course, so their teammates, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, were sailing to gold on the same race area.

Patience added: “We are such a united team and I am so pleased for them. They are well-deserving winners. We’ve worked alongside them for many years together so I’m an old friend of them both and they really do deserve it. They worked hard and what a bang for them to go out on.”