12 th August 2008
Australia holds the overall lead in three events after a star showing from its 470 sailors on day four of racing at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition in Qingdao.
The 470 two person dinghies completed races 3 and 4 of their Opening Series. The Finn, Yngling and 49er fleets all had a day off the water, giving them the opportunity to recover and prepare for their return to the racing area tomorrow.
The light wind conditions continued in Qingdao today and racing was particularly tricky for the Lasers and Laser Radials on course area A with some big upsets amongst the pre-regatta favourites.
Triple World Champions Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE have taken the lead in the Men’s 470 fleet with consistent 3, 3 scores today. Their team mates Elise RECHICHI and Tessa PARKINSON fared even better in the women’s fleet with a fourth place and a win putting them top.
49er
World Champions Nathan OUTTERIDGE and Ben AUSTIN hit the heights on day two of the 49er event in Qingdao, storming into the overall lead with a sparkling performance.
After being disqualified from Sunday’s race 1 following a Jury ruling (on a mark rounding incident) this morning, Nathan OUTTERIDGE and Ben AUSTIN (AUS) bounced back in style with two wins out of three light air 3-5 knot races to take the overall lead of the 49er series.
The disqualification was not as bad as it could have been. The Australians had finished at the back end of the fleet after hitting the first windward mark and obstructing others as they tried to round the mark.
"Thankfully we'll use that as our race drop today," said AUSTIN. As six races of the series have now been put to bed, one score can be excluded from their series total.
The Aussies are aware there are still nine races to sail to reach the Medal Race and they will have to watch Jonas WARRER and Martin IBSEN (DEN), who are just two points behind, while the Italian brothers Pietro SIBELLO and Gianfranco SIBELLO are a further five points in deficit.
Sunday’s leaders, Stevie MORRISON and Ben RHODES (GBR) had a bad day out, ending with uncharacteristic 14, 15, 15 finishes.
To follow the racing try these sites:
http://www.australiansailingteam.com.au/
http://www.sailing.org/olympics
http://www.sailing2008.org/
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