OKADA/YOSHIOKA SAFE-GUARDS 1ST PLACE
09 Sep 2023The second half of the race began, with the final series of races divided into gold and silver fleets. The conditions in Yuriage, Natori City, Miyagi saw irregular large swells due to the effects of Typhoon No. 13 that had just passed.
Despite the difficult handling conditions, Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka (Toyota Motor East Japan / Benesse Holdings) maintained their lead with stable scores.
The final series will be sailed on September 10, and teams aiming for the Paris Olympics will face each other directly in the same group.
Okada/Yoshioka finished scoring 1-3-1 today, using the left side of the course. Tetsuya Isozaki/Yurie Seki (Yamaha Motor) are in second place overall with 4-1-3. The gold and bronze medalists from the World Championships held in August at The Hague are battling to win this Japan Championship.
Keiju Okada, 1st overall, commented: "Today was an important day for me. Due to the typhoon, the swell and the wind were in different directions, making the condition challenging. Sailing with good speed is a key. In the second race (finishing third), we made a mistake in choice of course. We will do our best tomorrow”.
Tetsuya Isoazaki, 2nd overall commented: “In the first race, there was a cloud on the right side of the sea, so I went for it. This was a risky choice. Keiju is leading us with some points but we will keep on doing our best on each of the races”
Ai Yoshida, 3rd overall commented: “In race 3, when the wind picked up, we got a good start and rounded the top mark in first place. I feel that this is a great achievement for us as we only started sailing as a team recently. I also feel that the boat speed of our new Persson boat has picked up.”
Ai Yoshida/Yugo Yoshida (Q'Sfix/Persson Marine Japan) currently ranking third, and Daichi Takayama/Fuyuka Morita ranking fourth are all contenders to compete in the Paris Olympics. The top four teams are rivals who have been training together in Japan and sail competitively in international competitions. Three races are schedule for tomorrow, the 10th, the final day of the Japan Championship.