New Zealand and Great Britain Assured of Medals
08 Aug 2012All eyes were on Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie (NZL) and Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) today as the Kiwis and Brits assured themselves of an Olympic medal as the Women's 470 fleet racing came to an end.
The Kiwis would have been happy with the second place they collected from Race 9, but a disappointing discarded 18th place in Race 10 removed the chance of them going into the Medal Race with a lead.
The British girls clocked up an eighth in Race 9 which became their discard for the competition. They closed the gap on the Kiwis to draw level on 33 points ahead of Friday's medal race after a strong second place in the final race of the day.
A rollercoaster day for both teams' means that they will go into the Medal Race guaranteed of a Medal, and in all likelihood it will be a gold or silver. The Kiwis and Brits are 19 points ahead of Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED) in third and only a disqualification and a Dutch race win would see them slip out of gold and silver spot.
Having sailed so consistently from the start Aleh was disappointed to let it slip with an 18th, "We made lots of mistakes, a few things went wrong but we try to get over it. The first race was pretty good then we followed up with our stuff-up of the regatta."
Despite the slip up crew Powrie can't wait for one last stand with the Brits, "We have gone back and forth with the Brits this whole regatta, so we're just looking forward to this final race. It should be fun."
On the fight for the gold Clark said, "It's head-to-head. We're made for it. Bring it on, Friday against the Kiwis. We came here to win and go into the Medal Race with a chance of winning, so we've done our job because we have a great chance."
"We want to win. We will enjoy watching the boys tomorrow and see what lessons we can learn. I know we're not done, but whatever the outcome is, I'll still be proud."
Westerhof and Berkhout are in third place overall, despite coming last in Race 9.
Xiaoli Wang and Xufeng Huang (CHN) secured their first race win today having made the most of the light breeze out on Portland Harbour. Unfortunately for them, it was too little too late, as they finished the day in 11th place overall missing out on the Medal Race.
Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell (AUS) were first over the line in race 10 after leading the fleet right from the beginning. They currently have 88 points, and will go into the medal race in sixth place.
It will be all to fight for on Friday when the Women's 470's will take to the Nothe course to sail for the prized top spot on the medal podium.
Top 10 Medal Race Contenders
1. Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie (NZL) - 33pts
2. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) - 33pts
3. Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED) - 52pts
4. Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron (FRA) - 55pts
5. Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan (BRA) - 61pts
6. Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell (AUS) - 67pts
7. Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol (ITA) - 69 pts
8. Kathrin Kadelbach/Friederike Belcher (GER) - 78pts
9. Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan (USA) - 78pts
10. Tara Pacheco/Berta Betanzos (ESP) - 93pts
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More Information:
470 Women Teams
2012 Olympic Website
2012 Olympic Results
Top Image: 470 Women Fleet © Matias Cappizano
Source: ISAF
