Dempsey geared up for Medal Race finale
by Imogen Stanley 13 Aug 2016 19:22 BST
8-18 August 2016
Nick Dempsey during the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition © Richard Langdon / British Sailing Team
Nick Dempsey goes into tomorrow's RS:X Men's Medal Race knowing he has Rio 2016 silver in the bag.
But there will be no Tour de France Champs-Élysées-style victory parade taking place on Guanabara Bay as, under the rules of competition Sailing Instructions, both he and gold medallist in waiting, Dorian Van Rijsselberghe (NED), must sail a competitive race to not risk being demoted to 10th in the fleet.
There is no danger of Dempsey, who is celebrating his 36th birthday today (Saturday), taking his foot of the pedal as he will be desperate to end what is set to be his last ever RS:X race on a career high of winning the medal race at his final Games.
Dempsey wrapped up silver after Friday's results dictated that he couldn't lose the silver medal but also could not catch the Dutchman for gold. But with the battle for bronze still very much on, the race is guaranteed to be as competitive as ever.
Bryony Shaw also contests her RS:X Women's Medal Race tomorrow, and still has an outside chance of a medal if everything goes in her favour. Shaw currently lies in eighth overall, 11 points behind Peina Chen (CHN) in bronze medal position.
With every position counting double in the Medal Race the perfect outcomes could still see Shaw replicate her podium success of Beijing 2008. But a lot of sailors also currently sit ahead of her so she would have to win the race and cross her fingers.
The RS:X Men's Medal Race is scheduled to be live from the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf) course on the BBC from 5pm with the Women's race scheduled for 6pm.
To follow all the action at Rio 2016 visit www.rya.org.uk/Rio2016, follow @BritishSailing on Twitter and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/britishsailingteam