Jul 30, 2021
Sailors Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, as well as Marco Grael and Gabriel Borges of Brazil have been disqualified from races five and six of Day 5 for using a trapeze harness that is too heavy.
MEN’S LASER: Australian Matt Wearn has secured the gold medal with a race spare.
TEAM GB: Guaranteed medal for Emma Wilson and top spot in both skiff classes.
470 CLASS: Aussies rocket up in the Men’s class while there is uncertainty in women’s class
The crew wore a trapeze harness that weighted more than the required 2kg. The Irish team finished in second and sixth place respectively in both races, leaving them seventh overall. However, a protest lodged by the international jury moved the Irish duo from 7th to 13th.
The Irish boat was 90g overweight and their harnesses weighed 2.09kg at the Day 5 of the Olympic Games. A similar scenario happened to the Brazilian 49er pair who lost their 6th and 1st places, dropping from the 9th place to the 16th. These protests gave the Kiwi pair Peter Burling and Blair Tuke their first race win.
Explaining the decision to launch the protest, former professional sailor Maurice O’Connell said: “The heavier your clothing the more leverage you can exert on the sail plan and on the mast, so the faster your boat goes. There is a maximum weight you can harness of 2kg.”
Only the top 10 after the 12 qualification rounds moved to the final, meaning if both teams don’t pick up their pace they will be out of the final.
In the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Laser Sailing class, Matt Wearn of Australia has secured his spot in the first position. The soon-to-be Olympic champion has established an unassailable lead with the medal race to spare.
Despite the medal race being worth double the points, wearn holds a 22-point lead that secures him the spot. This follows victories recorded by Tom Slingsby (2012) and Tom Burton (2016) for Australia’s third straight gold medal in this event.
The 25-year-old is coached by Michael Blackburn, who also coached Slingsby and Burton in their Olympic victories.
In the Women’s One Person Dinghy, gold medallist from Rio, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) has had an incredible comeback. She is back on track but there are not many realistic chances of achieving the gold after being disqualified from race 7.
Despite Emma Wilson from the UK having secured a place in the podium of the Women’s Windsurfer RS:X, it is expected Chinese athlete Yunxiu Lu wins gold. She is four-points ahead of the British athlete, while Charline Picon of France holds the third spot.
In Men’s Windsurfer, Kiran Badloe of the Netherlands is 19 points ahead of the Medal Race and only has to finish Saturday’s Medal Race, avoiding disqualification, to secure his gold medal. The fight for the silver and bronze medal is unpredictable, but Thomas Goyard of France is second overall, just two points ahead of Mattia Camboni of Italy.
With two more wins that put them further ahead, the Aussie team has won five world titles together. This will be their last partnership in the Games as in the next Games there will be changes in the format.
In second place Great Britain’s Luke Patience with Chris Grube won silver at the London 2012 Games. Will their patience earn them the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics Summer Games?
Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar of Poland are still at the top of the leaderboard as they have the most consistent results of the group. The British team holds overall second while France is in third place.
Rugerro Tita and Caterina Banti are on the lead of the mixed multihull class after solid results of 2, 5, and 1. Following closely, John Grimson and Anna Burnet of Great Britain have been delivering brilliantly in Sagami Bay.
The reigning Olympic Champions Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli have been relegated to the fourth spot and are four points behind Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer of Germany.