Three-Sided Dice?
by Mark Jardine 3 Aug 13:35 BST
3 August 2024
Bescon Polyhedral Dice 3-sided Gaming Dice © Bescon Dice
Love it hate it, the new format for the Windsurfing certainly provides drama, and the final race has truly become a Medal Race... but is it fair?
I've found that a Three-Sided Dice does exist, but would the Windsurfing Finals feel like the sailors were rolling one? It was time to find out...
Instead of the top ten Medal Race, where the final race counts for double-points, there is a Quarter Final for those placed 10th to 7th in the main series where the top two go through to face the 2nd and 3rd placed sailors in the Semi Final.
The top two from this then go through to the Final with the winner of the main series in a race which decides who gets what colour medal. Four years of training comes down to just a few minutes on the water.
In the Men's Windsurfing the points were tight, with Australia's Grae Morris guaranteeing himself a medal, winning the main series by four points, but in the Women's event Great Britain's Emma Wilson won the main series by a monumental 31 points, which under the Medal Race system would have guaranteed her gold by a huge margin.
In the Women's Windsurfing Quarter Final early leaders Theresa Marie Steinlein (GER) and Helene Noesmoen (FRA) battled it out, but saw the race turned on its head when Zheng Yan (CHN) and Maria Belen Bazo German (PER), who were last and second to last at the first mark banged a corner on the upwind leg to take the lead and seal their places in the Semi Finals.
The Men's Quarter Final provided slightly less drama, with Luuc van Opzeeland (NED) leading from start to finish, but Sam Sills (GBR), who was fifth at the first mark, managed to climb his way up the fleet, gybing inside Elia Colombo (SUI) at the final mark to seal the second spot in the Semi Final.
With four boards on the water, it was slightly easier for the sailors to keep an eye on their competition in the Semi Finals, and reigning iQFoil World Champion Sharon Kantor (ISR) made no mistakes to lead from start to finish, with the 2020 World Champion Marta Maggetti (ITA) progressing to the Final. The two unexpected quarter finalists were knocked out, meaning the top three from the main series would battle it out for the medals.
The Men's Semi Final saw Tom Reuveny (ISR) and Luuc van Opzeeland (NED) fast away at the start with Sam Sills (GBR) gybing early on the downwind leg after the first mark. The fleet of four split at the leeward gate with Luuc van Opzeeland (NED) and Sam Sills (GBR) turning left and Tom Reuveny (ISR) and Josh Armit (NZL) turning right.
This time the left-hand side of the course gave a slight advantage, with Israel's Tom Reuveny just overhauling The Netherland's Luuc van Opzeeland, leaving Great Britain's Sam Sills in the painful leather medal position and New Zealand's Josh Armit, who had finished the main series in third, to finish fifth overall.
So, a day later than it was originally scheduled to take place, it was finally time for the top three Windsurfers to battle it out and determine the outcome of what medal they'd receive on the podium.
In the Women's Windsurfing Final Great Britain's Emma Wilson was fast out of the blocks, opting for the leeward line, and rounded just ahead of Israel's Sharon Kantor with Italy's Marta Maggetti just behind. Positions were maintained on the downwind leg, but upwind Kantor managed to climb off Wilson, finding a nice high mode on port tack. Maggetti tacked first, followed by Kantor leaving Wilson as the last to tack, which inverted the fleet.
The Italian sailor Marta Maggetti made no mistakes to win Women's Windsurfing gold, with Israel's Sharon Kantor sealing silver, and heartbreak for Great Britain's Emma Wilson, who had to settle for bronze. The 31-point lead in the qualifying series meant nothing in this final race and it all came down to when to tack on the upwind leg.
The Men's Windsurfing Final saw The Netherlands' Luuc van Opzeeland take the early lead with the leeward position, but then a General Recall was called by the Race Committee. There was then an agonising wait, while the officials reviewed the start footage, only to decide no-one should be penalised and the race went away on the second attempt.
The three sailors were incredibly close around the first and second marks, with Israel's Tom Reuveny heading left on the upwind leg, with The Netherlands' Luuc van Opzeeland and Australia's Grae Morris heading right.
The sailors converged on the starboard lay line, with Morris tacking beneath Reuveny and having to duck van Opzeeland, with this move allowing Israel's sailor the slightest lead at the final windward mark, ahead of the Australian.
Israel's Tom Reuveny extended downwind and sailed in fast to seal gold, with Australia's Grae Morris sealing silver and The Netherlands' Luuc van Opzeeland settling for bronze.
Full results can be found on World Sailing's Paris 2024 website here.