Saxton and Groves step up Rio gold quest ahead of rest day
by Imogen Stanley 12 Aug 2016 00:05 BST
8-18 August 2016
Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves kept their early Nacra 17 medal charge firmly on track after another impressive day in Rio today (Thursday 11 August).
The Olympic debutant Brits sit tied on equal points (17) at the top of the leaderboard with 2015 Olympic Test Event gold medallists, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, (AUS), with the Australians in pole due to the number of race wins they have.
Having completed just two of their scheduled three races on the opening day of their event yesterday, the Nacra 17s were fully put to the test with four races today.
But Saxton and Groves, 2015 European Champions, continued to show they are ready to take tackle any challenge thrown at them, opening the day with a second place and following that with seventh, fifth and third place finishes.
The Nacra 17 class is now midway through their scheduled 12-race opening series and the Brits were desperate not to leave anything on the shore ahead of tomorrow's rest day.
Groves said: "It was quite brutal out there but Ben helps me out a lot when it's those types of conditions as it's such hard work for the crews. Ben was fully up for the big waves and couldn't wait for the downwind.
"I can't believe we are halfway through already, it's gone so fast. We're looking forward to the rest of it but there is still a long way to go. We're sailing well and we just need to keep on going and smiling. It's pretty exciting and I'm enjoying it."
Ben added: "It was a big day and at times there was quite a lot of wind. We kept sailing smart and needed a couple of comebacks but we always did it. Without winning a race we have had four good races."
Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri (ITA), the 2016 Worlds bronze medallists, currently lie in third overall.
The Nacra 17 class is scheduled to contest a 13 race series, with three races per day on 10, 11, 13 and 14 August before the final one off medal race on Tuesday 16 August.
To follow Ben and Nicola's fortunes at Rio 2016 visit www.rya.org.uk/Rio2016, follow @BritishSailing on Twitter and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/britishsailingteam