Gold medal battle hots up for Lucas in 2.4mRs at Rio Paralympics

by RYA on 16 Sep 2016 Helena Lucas vowed to “keep fighting for every point” after a nail-biting day that saw the battle for the 2.4mR gold medal move up a gear in Rio (Thursday 15 September).

Lucas now sits in second overall, one point behind Australia’s Matthew Bugg, after scores of 1, 4 and 2 for the Brit, compared to two race wins and a second for the Aussie, setting the scene for a thrilling final three races tomorrow and Saturday.

Today’s final contest typified the back-and-forth nature of the racing. Lucas having led from the start, found herself neck and neck with Bugg going round the windward mark and down the final run, the pair crossing the line with exactly the same time of 47 minutes 54 seconds but with Bugg getting the photo finish decision.

The 2.4mRs 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 across all the medal positions, with France’s Damien Seguin currently in third, Lucas insists nothing is decided.

She said: “There are still three races to go and I just have to keep going, chipping away and fighting for every point and just see what happens at the end of the week. It's so tight that anything could happen

“Matt's had a great year, he's really found his form. I always thought Heiko (Kroeger) and Damien would certainly be ones to keep an eye on but Matt's showed some really good performances this year so I'm not surprised to see him up there. Hopefully the Gods of Brazil might be able to rustle something up tomorrow!”

With the 2.4mRs bidding to get back on schedule with three races today, the opening encounter saw Lucas seize the initiative on the start line, lead up the first beat, round the windward mark first and hold that lead for the entire race.

The next was a different proposition as she had to battle back from sixth place to enter into a three-way chase to the finish with Bjornar Erikstad (NOR) and Dee Smith (USA), eventually edging out Smith metres from the line to take fourth in the race.

This was all before the race that arguably provided the Games’ most exciting sailing moment so far.

Lucas added: “The first race went really well and was quite simple, then the second race was a bit trickier because the tide was changing a little bit and we were trying to second guess what was going on, so that was really tough. One minute you would be making gains and then you would suddenly get swallowed up by the run.

“The last race it was all going pretty well and I was feeling quite chilled and playing the shifts. I was keeping an eye on Damien, because he was second. Then next thing I know I looked over and Matt's on this massive lift and had caught up.

“We went round the top mark neck and neck and then down the run. Then across the finish line I caught a wave just as we got there, and I surged forwards so I thought I'd got it, it was that close. It was a very exciting race.”