Paris 2024: Japanese Crew Hold 470 Lead and Italian Pair Begin Nacra 17 Defence
by World Sailing 3 Aug 21:59 BST
28 July - 8 August 2024
Today on the Women's and Men's Dinghy course it was big waves and a pretty strong breeze. It was a full-power day that required a lot of stamina and fitness, particularly for the women who had to catch up a lost race from the previous schedule.
Despite the rigours, three-time Olympic medallist from The Netherlands Marit Bouwmeester extended her lead today.
She said: "Marseille is quite tricky, so if you told me I'd have this kind of start to the regatta I would have definitely signed up to it.
"I do like the variety of conditions, the strong winds, light winds, and it's a bit of everything. And I always find that that maybe suits me, but we'll see what's happening the next few days.
"Three races was quite a tough day but I really enjoyed the downwind legs. They just went by too quickly as the current was pushing us along so the upwinds were a bit longer. But I'm happy how things are going and hopefully I can maintain this level."
Reigning World and Olympic Champion, Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark had to dig deep today, due to not feeling well.
She said: "It was dream conditions. I mean, I love this but there is also a lot of pressure to do well and I haven't had the start that I was hoping and obviously with already a discard. So it's just really tough.
"Everyone is so fast in this fleet. I definitely feel like I had to catch up a little bit today, but I am super fast so I shouldn't be worried at all. But obviously, the nerves got to me a little bit today and not feeling super good in general, with just being a little bit sick or slightly nervous."
The big surprise package of the day was Hannah Snellgrove, the British sailor who won the first two races of the strong wind session and moves up to third overall.
"It felt like a bucket list ticking-off moment when you win a race at the Olympics. And then I did it again which is really cool. Unfortunately I couldn't do it in the third race but I guess you can't have too much of a good thing.
"That's my favourite condition, big waves, big wind, super fun. I mean, even in an ILCA 6 we get to surf a little bit, you know, so can't complain!"
Matt Wearn extended his advantage at the top of the Men's Dinghy standings with first and second in the two races today.
Great Britain's Michael Beckett enjoyed his best day of racing so far with two fourths moving him up to second overall. Cyprus' Pavlos Kontides trails Beckett by just two points after finishing tenth and fifth today.
Beckett said: "Obviously I'd seen the forecast that said today was going to be big. We went a long way out almost to the back of the bay.
"The waves were absolutely massive, the breeze was up but still quite unstable. Just doing everything in the sights of those waves, made it quite a biblical day really. I enjoyed it."
Japan's Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka maintained their advantage at the top of the Mixed Dinghy standings with another profitable day on the water, while Italy's Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti dominated the opening day of the Mixed Multihull.
The Japanese duo opened with another second placed finish, which helped them secure a five-point lead at the end of the second day of racing.
Austria's Lara Vadlau and Lukas Maehr recovered from a difficult first day, where they received a black flag ruling, to win race four and move up to second overall.
Sweden's Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Karlsson sit just a point behind the Austrian crew after they sailed impressively to win race three of the 470 class.
The Mixed Multihull event also got under way today and it was Italy's Tita and Banti who took control early. The reigning Olympic champions began with a point to prove, winning the first two races in windy conditions.
Argentina's Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco finished the day only two points off the Italian leaders, after a strong second placed finished in race one and two.
Finland's Sinem Kurtbay and Akseli Keskinen edged into the top three after securing third and fourth in their first session on the water.
How it works:
Medals for the Women's and Men's Dinghy (ILCA 6 and ILCA 7) will be decided by the cumulative results of the 40-strong fleet over 10 races. The boat with the lowest total will rank first. Athletes will be able to discard their worst finishing position after they've completed three races.
At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten boats in the fleet will qualify for the Medal Race, which is worth double points. The score in the Medal Race cannot be discarded. The sailor with the smallest overall points total will win gold.
Medals for the Mixed Dinghy (470) will be decided by the cumulative results of the 19-strong fleet over 10 races. The boat with the lowest total will rank first. Athletes will be able to discard their worst finishing position after they've completed three races.
At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten boats in the fleet will qualify for the Medal Race, which is worth double points. The score in the Medal Race cannot be discarded. The crew with the smallest overall points total will win gold.
Medals for the Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17) be decided by the cumulative results of the 19-strong fleet over 12 races. The boat with the lowest total will rank first. Athletes will be able to discard their worst finishing position after they've completed three races.
At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten boats in the fleet will qualify for the Medal Race, which is worth double points. The score in the Medal Race cannot be discarded. The crew with the smallest overall points total will win gold.
Full results can be found at paris2024.sailing.org/racing/results-centre