Tom Ramshaw finishes 10th overall in Finn at the 2020 Olympic Games

Tom Ramshaw, CAN at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition © Robert Deaves / www.robertdeaves.uk

Canadian Sailor Tom Ramshaw took 7th place in the Finn Medal Race held last night at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to finish the competition in 10th position overall.

Taking part in his second Olympic Games, Ramshaw, from Toronto, improved on his result from Rio 2016 where he took the 21st spot.

"Overall, I'm super happy with 10th place after a really tough start to the regatta," said Ramshaw. "I was really honoured to represent Canada and being able to enjoy the Olympic experience again. It was a privilege and a great experience."

"Today, we had a light wind medal race and I had nothing to lose but rather a few positions to possibly gain, so I took a few more risks than I normally would have. However, it didn't really pay off as the fleet got really compressed, the finish was really tight and I wasn't able to move up."

By qualifying for the Medal Race and finishing 10th, Tom Ramshaw has come up with the best Canadian performance in the Finn class since Chris Cook finished 5th in 2008 in Beijing. It is also the fourth best Canadian result in this event since Terence Neilson won the bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1984.

Added to the Olympic program in 1952, a Finn event has been held at 17 different Games (excluding the Canadian boycott in 1980). The Tokyo event, however, was the last time Finn was held at the Games since it is not scheduled for Paris in 2024.

"The Finn is out, so that's obviously quite sad," expressed Ramshaw. "That is no longer an option, but there is always the Laser and other classes that I would love to challenge myself to pursue, so we'll see. We will reevaluate and I will take my time."

17th place finish for Jacob Saunders and Oliver Bone

In the Men's 470 event, Jacob Saunders from Chester, N.S., and Oliver Bone from Montreal, QC, who are both taking part in their second Olympic Games, took the 17th and 14th spots in their last two preliminary races to finish 17th overall. Saunders, who took part in the 470 event in 2016, and Bone, who competed in 2008 in Beijing, therefore did not qualify for the Medal Race to be held tonight.

"We're very happy with the event," said Oliver Bone. "Of course, as competitors, we always want to do better but, with the late start to the campaign, we did everything we could and are pleased with the outcome. We had many moments mixing it up with the very best near the top of the fleet. Our 7th-place finish in the 5th race is both Jacob's and myself best race result at the Olympics in our respective campaigns. We are honoured to have been on this team with such amazing athletes and coaches."

Best Canadian performance since 2012

Canada closed the sailing competition with two top-10 results, which represents the best performance for the country since the 2012 Olympic Games.

Sarah Douglas achieved Canada's best individual performance in women's sailing in Olympic history by finishing in 6th position overall in Laser Radial in Tokyo, while Tom Ramshaw took the 10th spot in the Finn event.

In London nine years ago, Zachary Plavsic and Nikola Girke respectively finished 8th and 10th in RS:X, while in Rio, Canada's best result was 15th place.

On this year's Canadian Olympic Sailing Team, more than half of the athletes were taking part in their first-ever Olympic Games, including Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen, who took the 16th spot in 49er FX, Will Jones and Evan DePaul, 19th in 49er, as well as Sarah Douglas. Nikola Girke, who competed in her 5th Olympic Games, finished 23rd in RS:X.

"We are all proud of our athletes and coaches who have dedicated themselves to push Canadian sailing forward," said Sail Canada High Performance Director Mike Milner. "We look forward to continuing our improvements leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games in three years as the future looks bright for Canadian sailing toward Paris!"

More information is available through Sail Canada's website at www.sailing.ca.