Italians seal gold in Mixed Multihull Medal Race
by Mark Jardine 8 Aug 11:59 BST
8 August 2024
Teams ahead of the Mixed Multihull Medal Race at Paris2024 on August 8, 2024 in Marseille, France © World Sailing / Jean-Louis Carli
With only just enough time to catch breath after the Mixed Dinghy Medal Race, it was the turn of the Mixed Multihulls to battle it out.
With the Italian pair of Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti 14 points in the lead, the major battle was between three teams for silver and bronze. Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco (ARG) were on 41 points, while John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) and also Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson (NZL) were tied on 47 points. The next team were on 70 points so out of contention.
Finland and Great Britain were over the start line, with Finland quickly returning but Great Britain continuing on, seemingly unaware that they were called. They were near the front, but then pulled out of the race by the Umpires, pushing them out of the medals. Disaster for the Brits but great news for the Kiwi team of Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson.
At the windward mark, with the Italians in second and the Argentine team comfortably ahead of the Kiwis, the medals were - barring a major fleet inversion - effectively set. John Gimson and Anna Burnet's OCS had seemingly pulled all remaining drama out of the race.
At the leeward mark though Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson had clawed their way up the fleet, managing to round ahead of Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco and then the Swedish team of Emil Jarudd and Hanna Jonsson in-between them. Could the Kiwis gain a couple more places and snatch silver?
France rounded the windward mark with a huge lead, while Italy's Tita and Banti were cruising their way to gold in second place, well ahead of the pack. New Zealand rounded seventh with Argentina eighth, which meant there would need to be a major upset on the downwind leg to unseat Majdalani and Bosco from silver.
Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti duly sealed back-to-back gold medals for Italy, with Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco doing enough to take silver for Argentina ahead of Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson who won bronze for New Zealand.
Full results can be found at paris2024.sailing.org/racing/results-centre