LASER MASTERS SET TO MATCH RACE FOR GOLD
by Ian Grant on 28 Sep 2000
Katrina Butler
Robert Scheidt of Brazil sailed the two most important races of his brilliant career on a windy Sydney Harbour today to join his arch rival Ben Ainslie in a mate against mate match race for the Gold Medal.
They were in the same situation four years ago when Scheidt snatched the Gold from Ainslie in the last race of the series.
Ainslie sailed onto the course to day looking for the chance to extend his 8 point lead when the wind gusted in to his favoured velocity.
But it was Scheidt who was the star performer scoring a 5-1 compared with Ainslie's 11-5 to narrow the margin to just four points with two races to sail.
The Gold Medal will be decided between these two highly talented sailors, who will win depends largely on the tactics each individual helmsman can produce under extreme pressure.
Sheidt has proved he can produce his best when the odds are stacked against him and Ainslie has matured into a technically smart sailor since he narrowly missed the Gold Medal in Atlanta four years ago.
This leaves the fate of the Laser class Gold Medal riding on wind velocity with Scheidt hold a marginal edge in the fresher winds while Ainslie has gained his best results in the lighter wind range.
A similar close battle is looming to decide the Bronze medal with Australia's Michael Blackburn slipping from third to fourth two points behind Portugal's Gustavo Lima.
PROGRESSIVE POINTS: (Provisional) GBR 40pts 1, BRA 44pts 2, POR 61pts 3, AUS 64pts 4, ITA 84 5, NOR 85pts 6, NED 90pts 7, USA 92pts 8, SWE 99pts 9, GRE 99pts 10.
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