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Fourth day of racing
The last 100 per cent record of the Olympic fleet racing classes at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta came to an end today (Thursday) as the event at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy approaches its climax.
Skandia Team GBR sailor Paul Goodison, the Beijing 2008 Laser gold medallist, brought to an end Tom Slingsby’s (AUS) impressive record of five wins from five races in the final Laser class race of the day.
With just two days of racing remaining, sailors in Olympic fleet racing classes will be battling it out tomorrow (Friday) to ensure they secure the top-10 positions in their respective fleets that will earn them places in Saturday’s medal races.
And tomorrow will also see the first medals of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta won and lost, when medals in the three Paralympic classes are awarded.
Slingsby’s perfect record in the Laser class came to an end at the hands of Goodison this afternoon. Up to that point the Australian’s five wins from five had given him a discard of just one.
But Goodison, who is unbeaten at international regattas since the Beijing Olympics, overcame the discomfort of a shoulder injury to beat the Australian in the sixth race of the series. Slingsby had to settle for runners-up spot and still leads the fleet.
“I’ve had a pretty bad shoulder injury, and I shouldn’t really be sailing, but I wanted to try to learn as much as possible about the course ready for 2012,” said Goodison.
“After winning every regatta I’ve been in this year, it’s hard knowing I’m not going to challenge, but it was nice to take a win from Tom today.
“I’ve struggled a bit in the strong winds this week, but it was nice this afternoon because the breeze dropped a little bit.
“For me the whole week is about trying to learn as much as I can about the course with so many boats on it. You can train here with small groups of boats, but with 50 boats sailing hard, you get a much better picture of what’s happening.”
Slingsby said he’s enjoying the racing at Weymouth and Portland, despite that defeat. “I’m enjoying the venue very much, so far so good,” he said. “The breeze direction seems to suit my sailing style.
“I’ve had my conditions, good speed and good luck, and some of the competition have been unlucky with a few shifts.
“If I have two bad ones tomorrow, I could still fall back a bit – I think the points are still reasonably close. I’d like to have a nice lead going into the medal race though.”
Another Brit, Nick Thompson, has climbed to second in the class. He is 15 points behind Slingsby.
Finland’s Sari Multala continues to dominate the Laser Radial class. She was fourth and fifth today and leads by five points from France’s Sarah Steyaert. Marit Bouwmeester (NED) won both of today’s races to make it four in a row. She climbed from 40th to 15th on the second day of racing and followed that up by soaring up to third today.
Britain’s Charlotte Dobson was second in the final race of the day and remains fifth.
Brazil’s Ricardo Santos sailed a bit closer to taking gold in the RS:X class, with second and fourth place finishes in today’s races. That gave him the luxury of being able to discard his fourth.
But Portugal’s Joao Rodrigues is still in the hunt. He finished fourth in the first race of the day and then won the second – the gap between the two great friends has extended by a single point to six, with Santos on 14 and Rodrigues on 20. Julien Bontemps (FRA) is third on 24, with Richard Hamilton the highest place Brit in eighth on 63.
Andreas Cariolou of Cyprus scored a 1 and 2 today to climb into the top four.
Santos, who excelled in the strong winds of Tuesday and Wednesday, said: “Now there’s less wind, the fleet are a bit more together. Everybody had good speed today.
“I’ve got good points, but Joao (Rodrigues) is still close to me. My worst result is a fourth, so I’ve got a good discard. I think I need one more good race and a good medal race.”
In the women’s RS:X competition, Skandia Team GBR’s Bryony Shaw closed the gap on Blanca Manchon from nine to six points. Shaw finished fifth in the first race and won the second, while the Spaniard finished sixth and failed to finish the last race, scoring 28, which she can discard. Jessica Crisp of Australia won her first race of the regatta in the penultimate race of the day, climbing from eighth to sixth.
It was a mixed day for the Skandia Team GBR crew Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson in the Star class. They crossed the start line too early in the first race and were awarded a 20th place, but followed that up by winning the second race and finishing fourth in the third. They stretched their leads at the head of the fleet from seven points to 11.
Sweden’s Frederik Loof and Johan Tillander climbed to second with a 1, 3 and 6. John Grimson and Ed Greig (GBR) finished third in the first race of the day, but followed that up with 13th and 15th and are seventh overall. Flavio Marazzi and Enrico de Maria won the third race and are sixth overall.
Nic Asher and Elliot Willis (GBR) finished third and second in today’s 470 races to move to the top of the leaderboard. They have a one-point lead over Australia’s Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, who were seventh and 10th today. Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell are a further two points behind in third on 14.
Willis said: “It’s been a weird day, the wind dropped off quite a bit in the day. The first race was pretty windy and not that shifty, but it got pretty shifty as it heated up. People’s results were all over the place, which is good for us. There were some pretty big discards today. We sailed pretty conservatively today, we weren’t on too many edges.
"We had a disappointing worlds the other week which put a lot of focus on this regatta for us.”
Asher added: “Competition is really high with all the top guys here so it’s good to beat them and even better here at the Olympic venue. It’s looking good at the moment.”
New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie continue to lead the women’s 470 fleet, but had a disappointing day with 13th and 14th place finishes. Their lead over Yuka Yoshisako and Noriko Okuma of Japan has been cut from 17 to just four points. Today’s races were won by Giulia Conti and Geovanna Micol (ITA) and Emmanuelle Rol and Helene Defrance (FRA). Britain’s Pippa Wilson and Saskia Clark are sixth, with two seventh places today.
Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, the world number one and European champion, has climbed to the top of the leaderboard in the Finn class with a 2 and 3 today.
Britain’s Ed Wright achieved a 1 and 7, which saw him climb to second. Another Brit, Giles Scott, had started the day in first, but dropped down to fifth after finishing 16th and eighth.
The last racing of the day featured the 49er class. Australia’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen continue to lead the class. They scored 11, 2 and 1.
The Italian brothers Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello continued to battle their way through the fleet, climbing from fourth to second, with two wins and a fourth today. They trail the Aussies by 17 points.
Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith head the British challenge – they are currently fifth.
The Match Racing moves to the quarter-final stage tomorrow (Friday), when crews skippered by Lucy Macgregor and Mark Rook (both GBR), Katie Spithill and Lucinda Whitty (both AUS), Anna Tunniclife (USA), Claire Leroy (FRA), Renee Groeneveld (NED) and Anna Kjellberg (SWE) will battle it out.
Tomorrow (Friday) will see the first medals of the 2009 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta awarded when the three Paralympic classes reach their climax.
USA and British crews are battling it out in the Sonar and Skud-18 classes.
Rikk Doerr’s USA crew are well-placed in the Sonar class, having won four of the five races. “It’s going well,” said Doerr. “We have all three Paralympic Games medallists here and these guys are fierce competitors.
“This is the lead-up to the Paralympics, so the more racing we can get in the better. We can sail in national competitions when we’re back Stateside, but the litmus test is to come here and sail against the guys who will be at he Paralympic Games.
“We’re feeling pretty good where the boat is now,” added Doerr, who is joined in the crew by Hugh Freund and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker.
The British crew of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas are second. They achieved a 3, 2 and 4 today and are five points behind the Americans on nine.
Stodel said: “It’s really tight on our course. It’s between us and the Americans in top spot. We’re just going to sail our own race and hope for the best.”
In the Skud-18 class, Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett of the USA continue to lead the fleet from Britain’s Alex Rickham and Niki Birrell, but by just a single point. Both crews won one race and finished second in the other today.
Rickham said: “Generally everything is on track for us. We’re fighting it out with the Americans to win the event and at the moment they have the upper hand.
“We’re still neck and neck and that with them and that’s all we’re focusing on.”
France’s Damien Seguin leads the 2.4mR fleet going into the final day of competition in the Paralympic classes. He won two of today’s races and finished second in the other. Thierry Schmitter of the Netherlands is second and only a point behind.
Britain’s Megan Pascoe is fourth with a 2, 10 and 6 in today’s races.
She said: “My target is to win a medal here. I’ve had some bad times and some good times, but overall it’s been quite good. It’s nice to have been quite consistent.
“It’s a really, really good fleet – we’ve got the best in the world here and it’s nice to show we can do well at our home venue.”
Top 3 places at end of day four of Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta
Total Nett
FINN
1. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic CRO 21 13
2. Ed Wright GBR 24 14
3. Pieter-jan Postma NED 35 24
470 MEN
1. Nic Asher and Elliot Willis GBR 14 11
2. Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page AUS 22 12
3. Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell GBR 24 14
470 WOMEN
1. Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie NZL 19 6
2. Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos ESP 30 17
3. Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata 33 18
7. Pippa Wilson and Saskia Clark 33 23
49er
1. Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen AUS 46 30
2. Pietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello ITA 91 47
3. Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis FRA 103 59
5. Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith 88.8 71.8
LASER
1. Tom Slingsby AUS 7 5
2. Nick Thompson GBR 46 20
3. Johan Wigforss SWE 32 21
LASER RADIAL
1. Sari Multala FIN 22 14
2. Sarah Steyaert FRA 29 19
3. Marit Bouwmeester NED 86 21
5. Charlotte Dobson GBR 48 30
RS:X MEN
1. Ricardo Santos BRA 18 14
2. Joao Rodrigues POR 26 20
3. Julien Bontemps FRA 36 24
8. Richard Hamilton 81 63
RS:X WOMEN
1. Blanca Manchon ESP 43 15
2. Bryony Shaw GBR 28 21
3. Flavia Tartaglini ITA 31 25
STAR
1. Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson GBR 29 9
2. Frederik Loof and John Tillander SWE 36 20
3 Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki POL 39 29
MATCH RACING - The following eight teams are in the quarter-finals:
FRA Claire Leroy, GBR Lucy Macgregor, USA Anna Tunnicliffe
NED Renee Groeneveld, AUS Katie Spithill, AUS Lucinda Whitty,
SWE Anna Kjellberg, GBR Mary Rook
SKUD-18
1. Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett USA 7 5
2. Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell GBR 8 6
3. John McRoberts and Brenda Hopkin CAN 19 12
SONAR
1. Rick Koerr, Hugh Freund and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker USA 8 4
2. John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas GBR 13 9
3. Bruno Jourden Flageul Eric Nicolas Vimont-Vicary FRA 21 11
2.4mR
1. Damien Seguin FRA 7 5
2. Thierry Schmitter NED 13 6
3. Andre Rademaker NED 35.5 17.5
4. GBR Megan Pascoe 29 19
For further information contact: Bryn Vaile in the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta press office on (07768) 902313 or visit www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk
About the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta
• 2009 will be the fourth edition of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, included in the inaugural 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup series
• Event dates: 14-19 September at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the venue for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing events.
• Run by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta is open to all Olympic and Paralympic Classes
• The title sponsor of the event is Skandia supported by UK Sport
• Olympic and Youth sailing is a beneficiary of the Lottery funded World Class Programmes (WCP) and administered by the Sports Councils. The Programmes focus on performance sport with the aim of achieving sporting excellence on the world stage. Further information can be found on the UK Sport website at: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/ and Sport England’s website at http://www.sportengland.org/
About Skandia
Skandia in the UK launched in 1979 and is now one of the leading international long term savings groups providing pensions, investment and protection products through intermediaries in the UK and overseas, with assets under management of £34.9n (as at 31.12.08). Creators of the MultiManager approach, Skandia has teamed up with the world's top fund managers to create a range of funds tailored for investors' individual needs.
Skandia UK is part of an international group founded in Sweden in 1855. The group is a leading, independent provider of long-term savings solutions.
Skandia UK is a division of the Skandia Group, itself owned by Old Mutual plc. Old Mutual is an international financial services group, listed on the London Stock Exchange where it is a FTSE 100® company, making it one of the largest 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Old Mutual is headquartered in London.
Being a part of Old Mutual makes Skandia a key division of the seventh largest life assurer in Europe, with a strong financial base. The combined group has funds under management of £264.8 billion and has approximately 50,000* employees. *As at 30 December 2008, Source: Old Mutual.
UK Sport
UK Sport's mission is to work in partnership to lead sport in the UK to world-class success. Our overall goal is to help British athletes achieve a top four finish in the medal table at the 2012 Olympic Games and to retain second place at the Paralympic Games. To achieve this we focus on World Class Performance, thereby ensuring our athletes can access the support they need to compete and win at the highest level. This primary goal is supported by work in the areas of Worldwide Impact (building Britain's reputation on the global sporting scene) and World-Class Standards (ensuring British athletes succeed fairly and cleanly). Part of our remit is to co-ordinate and participate in the UK's efforts to bid for and stage major events on home soil. Through our Lottery-funded World Class Events Programme we have supported the bidding for and staging of over 100 events of World, European and Commonwealth status since 1997. Through this programme, we are supporting the 2009 Skandia Sail For Gold Regatta with up to £225,000. For more information visit www.uksport.gov.uk
The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) is a world class sailing venue and effectively promotes the sport of sailing to all levels of competence and ability, through courses, training and events, whilst supporting and working closely with the local community. The WPNSA will be the venue for the sailing competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Weymouth and Portland has been recognised as having some of the best boating waters on the planet. The Academy currently runs a number of high profile regattas throughout the year and boasts fantastic conference and event facilities. The WPNSA is committed to conserving the local environment winning the 2008 Sport Industry Award for Environmental Concern in Sport. www.wpnsa.org.uk
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