Why my money is on double GBR gold
by Gael Pawson, Creating Waves 4 Aug 2012 17:36 BST
5 August 2012
Finns on day one of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition © Tom Gruitt /
www.tom-gruitt.co.uk
Ok, ok, I know: I'm an optimist. My glass is always half full even when it's nearly empty! I can be racing and behind by a country mile and I'll still retain hope until the finish. Sometimes I'm right though and the unexpected happens, just as it can when you are leading.
But I'm an amateur when it comes to this sailing lark. Our Olympians are full-on professionals. They do this day in and day out.
Ben has certainly put us all through it this week, but even when he was trailing by 10 points, teammate and friend Andrew 'Bart' Simpson was confident: 'He'll do it, he's an animal.'
Well the animal was unleashed on Thursday, and by the final fleet race on Friday even Ben was led to comment that he had 'Found the turbo button.'
So the stage is set: Ben trails Hogh-Christensen by two points. Ben needs to beat the Dane in the medal race. It's going to be tight, it's going to be nail-biting and I'm sure we'll all have a few more grey hairs after it but I'm still confident that Ben will do it. The Dane lacks the match-racing prowess that Ben undoubtedly has in spades – when asked the Dane shook his head, 'I haven't match raced since I was 15!' He might be fast, but Ben will be merciless. Still, it's not going to be easy, especially as PJ Postma from the Netherlands isn't far behind in third either, but I'm backing Ben.
Just for a moment let's take our eyes off Ben, because first off on Sunday, we have Iain Percy and Bart going for gold in the Star class. Three boats are close at the top and their arch rivals, Brazil's Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, lie second. But what helps the British pair here is that while they have an eight-point lead, the Brazilians are just four points ahead of third-placed Swedes Freddy Loof and Max Salminen. A match race here is tough. The Brazilians need the Brits to finish four places behind, and they need to ensure the Swedes don't finish more than a place ahead – and it's just between these three boats for the medals. The Brazilians have a lot to do, and the Brits will have a massive crowd cheering them on. It's going to be another thrilling and heart-stopping day of racing. Two golds won't be easy, but it's a very real prospect.
www.YachtsandYachting.com/London2012
Gael Pawson has been editor of the UK's top performance magazine,
Yachts and Yachting, for over 10 years and runs
Creating Waves, which supplies editorial content for a range of publications. A keen and experienced sailor in her own right – having learnt to sail at the age of five - small, fast boats are her first love, but she has sailed everything from America’s Cup yachts to foiling Moths. She has been involved in covering the UK's amazing Olympic sailing success story since the 2000 Sydney Games.