Athens 2004 - Day 13 preview
by Sacha Oswald, RYA 26 Aug 2004 10:19 BST
Big day out for British 49er duo
Day thirteen of the 2004 Olympic Games will see a big day in the 49er fleet who will wrap up their sixteen race series today.
Great Britain’s Chris Draper and Sydney Olympic silver medallist Simon Hiscocks have already secured themselves a bronze medal and will be racing today to see if they can trade up. They are currently lying two points behind Rodion Luka and George Leonchuck of Ukraine and eleven points off first placed Iker Martinez and Xavier Fernandez of Spain. As windsurfer Nick Dempsey proved yesterday, anything is possible in this sport and it really will come down to the wire.
Sydney Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy and crew Steve Mitchell will also be back out in the Star class. The points are extremely close in the class, and with just four points separating the Brits in sixth place and a podium position, there will be all to play for going into the final three races of the series.
Racing will also take place today in the Tornado catamaran class, like the Star, they have a further three races left and Great Britain’s Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley are currently lying in thirteenth place overall after two good results yesterday.
Another day of light winds is forecast with a light south westerly sea breeze predicted at race start time of 1300. Temperatures will reach once again into the early 30's.
You can follow the racing online at www.gbrsailing.org.uk where you will get live updates from the dinghy park and the results as they come in, as well as all the gossip from the Team GB camp. You can also leave messages of support for the team and your comments on the racing.
You will also be able to view the sailing on the BBC today. Interactive 4 will show live coverage at 11 00 (BST) from the 49er course and BBC 1 will also include live coverage throughout the afternoon as well as regular updates from the sailing venue. There will also be coverage of the days sailing activity on the BBC1 Olympic report programmes at 19 00 (BST) and 10 30 (BST). All TV details are correct at time of going to press.
Full results with mark by mark roundings are at sailing.org/olympics2004