London Olympics 2012: Sailing Olympics News - Day 8

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London Olympics 2012: Sailing Olympics News - Day 8

August 6, 2012 - Weymouth, England - Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen chat with Tom Slingsby before starting their final two races Richard Gladwell
Welcome to Sail-World.com's 2012 Olympic Newsletter for Day 8

Often described as the 'Lucky Country' because of its abundance of resources, Australia added more Gold to its already ample reserves – this courtesy of a sailing regatta being staged off Weymouth England.

Today the Australian sailing team officially won its first Gold medal of the 2012 Olympics – by Tom Slingsby in the Mens Singlehander , sailing in the Laser class.

A couple of hours later, his fellow team members Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen repeated his feat – winning the Mens Skiff, without needing points from the Medal Race to be sailed on Wednesday.

Lijia Xu tastes Gold - day 9 Medal race - Laser Radial. London Olympics 2012 Carlo Borlenghi/FIV - copyright

Two Gold medals boosted a lack-lustre performance from the Australian Olympic team on which the British media have been merciless

Slingsby won Australia's first individual medal, doubling their count of Gold medals.

Outteridge and Jensen, although not having been formally awarded their Gold, have tripled the team's count, and bought it up to the level of New Zealand.

Medal race - Laser Radial. London Olympics 2012 Carlo Borlenghi/FIV - copyright

As the points stand, Australia leads in another two sailing events, which taking the most generous view, could see the team from the Lucky Country catch the plane home with four Gold medals in their kit bags.

That would also bring in a new World Order in Olympic sailing, with dominance of Great Britain broken.

Another mark was set today, with the young New Zealand crew of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, winning New Zealand's first Olympic medal outside of windsurfing in 20 years.

Although the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand is best described, in polite circles as 'intense'. A pragmatic approach based on the premise that the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' has seen the New Zealand and Australian 49er crews train and practice as a pair against each other.

August 6, 2012 - Weymouth, England - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke racing in the 49er Richard Gladwell

Weird as it may seem the thinking is that it is better for them both to come out with a Gold and Silver medal each, rather than go alone and maybe both miss out to the British machine.

The Anzac approach has worked well in the 49ers – whether it transfers to other classes remains to be seen.

Another milestone for sailing today, with the winning of the Silver medal in the Mens Singlehander (Laser) by Pavlos Kontides (Cyprus). This marked the pinnacle of an eight year campaign by the sailor from one of the world's smaller sailing nations.

August 6, 2012 - Weymouth, England - 49ers head for the Portland shore Richard Gladwell

Finally it was announced at the media conference this morning that the estimated number for the crowd watching the Finn Medal race had been out at 30,000 - that is a hell of a number for a sailing event - and comparable with many gate sports.

In this edition of Sail-World's Olympic newsletter we have all the background and reports on today's racing, including the two Medal Races, along with some great images from some of the world's top photographers.

We'll all be back in action tomorrow – stay tuned to www.sail-world.com

Good sailing!

Richard Gladwell
Olympic Editor

Irish 470 Mens crew finish Race 7 instyle Richard Gladwell

London Olympics 2012 - Monday is washing day!
Bob Fisher,
London Olympics 2012 - Little was left to doubt in the Laser Radials before the medal race even started - there were only four women, all within a point, and well clear of the fleet, who could win the medals, effectively making the finishing order of the top three the medal winners.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Laser and Laser Radial medal race images
Carlo Borlenghi images,
Carlo Borlenghi images from the London Olympics 2012 Laser and Laser Radial Medal races.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - A tale of two Medal races
Mark Chisnell,
When the medal race was introduced at the Olympic Sailing Competition, the hope was that it would bring heart-stopping action for spectators. Yesterday it delivered plenty, with the Star and Finn. And today, we saw a couple more classic medal race stories play out in the two Laser classes. There was the all-but unassailable lead that dissolves into a match race at the back of the fleet.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Canadian Olympic Sailing Team on day 9
John Curtis,
London Olympics 2012, Weymouth and Portland. Sailing competition day 9. Canada only had two teams on the water today 470 Men and 49'er. The wind was stronger today than predicted last night. It was a lot more from the West than we had seen previously. This put the windward mark very close to the spectator area and meant lots of crazy puffs and shifts as the boats approached the windward mark.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - U.S. Olympic Sailing Team day 9
Dana Paxton,
Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Regatta in Weymouth brought the Medal Race in the Laser Radial. In the final race – the medal race – for the Women's One Person Dinghy (Laser Radial), Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) finished sixth to complete the Olympic Sailing Regatta in eighth overall.... [more]
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Tom Slingsby – Gold at Last - What he said
Rob Kothe and the Sail-World team,
Dockside yesterday before the medal ceremony the 27 year old Australian, five times Laser World Champion and now Olympic Gold medallist, talked about his success.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Brits continue crusade in Weymouth
Matt Carter,
At the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, Brits Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell continued their crusade for 470 Men's debut gold following another impressive display on day nine. The British team sailors were joined by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and HRH The Princess Royal at Weymouth and Portland today.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Slingsby's long wait for Gold is over + Video
Craig Heydon,
It was an historic day as Tom Slingsby's gold was Australia's first in the Laser class and followed a dominant display from the five-time World Champion throughout the regatta.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Irish sailors fall short on day 9
ISA,
At 1300 today at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, the ten boats in the Laser Radial class started their final decisive race for Olympic medals. Ireland's hope for an Olympic sailing medal was cheered on by hundreds of Irish sailing supporters on ‘Murphy Mound' on the Nothe course who had travelled to Weymouth to witness Ireland's best Olympic sailing result in 32 years.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012: 470 Men - Aussies and Brits blitz the field
ISAF,
At the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page of Australia and Great Britain's Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell are neck and neck in the Men's 470 with only a single point separating them at the top of the leader board.... [more]
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London Olympics: New Zealand sailors win Silver Medal in 49er
Richard Gladwell,
The New Zealand crew of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won a Silver medal today at the 2012 Olympic Regatta, after finishing with two sixth places in the Mens Skiff (49er). Going into today's race, the young New Zealand crew, trailed their Australian training partners by 20 points with 13 of the 15 races sailed. The New Zealanders were 30pts ahead of the third placed boat, now a crew from Denm... [more]
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London Olympics 2012: Laser Radial - China's Lijia Xu snags gold
ISAF,
At the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, China's Lijia Xu sailed her way to the Laser Radial gold medal by claiming the bullet in a winner takes all Medal Race. Marit Bouwmeester (NED) took silver and Evi Van Acker (BEL) claimed bronze in winds up to 14 knots on the Nothe course, close to a large crowd which cheered sailors around every mark.... [more]
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Tom Slingsby's clubmates cheer on famous victory
Peter McIntosh,
The modest sailing club on the shores of Brisbane Water at Gosford where Slingsby has become a wonderful role model for young sailors, extended normal trading hours and was decked out in green and gold as clubmates gathered together to watch history in the making.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012: Laser - Gold for Aussie Tom Slingsby
ISAF,
At the London Olympic Sailing Competition, Australian Laser sailor Tom Slingsby snagged the gold medal after controlling his only rival Pavlos Kontides (CYP) in the Medal Race. Slingsby, the five-time world champion, laid to rest the ghosts of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where he also started as the favourite, but had a disastrous regatta and did not even make the Medal Race, finishing 22nd.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012: 49er - Gold and silver decided in Weymouth
ISAF,
At the London 2012 Olympics, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Australia have snagged 49er gold with just the Medal Race to go whilst Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) clinched silver. The Australians have been dominant all week long winning five of 15 fleet races to go into the Medal Race with an unassailable 29 point lead.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Brits prepare for Medal Race assault
Matt Carter,
At the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, windsurfer Nick Dempsey is preparing himself for his assault on Olympic sailing silver on Tuesday 7 August. The Athens 2004 bronze medallist currently sits second overall, 11 points clear of Toni Wilhelm (GER) in bronze medal position and 17 points ahead of Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) who occupies fourth spot.... [more]
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London Olympic 2012 Sailing Competition - Results after day 9
Anna Parker, Sail-World.com,
The London Olympic 2012 Sailing Competition is currently underway in Weymouth and after day nine, here are the latest results from the 49er Men's, Elliott 6m - Women's (Women's Match Racing), Finn, Laser Men's, Laser Radial Women's, RS:X Men's, RS:X Women's, 470 Men's, 470 Women's and Star Men's classes.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012— Slingsby captures a gold in the Laser class
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor,
Tom Slingsby (AUS) crossed the finishing line one position ahead of his only Gold-medal rival, Pavlos Kontides (CYP), to take home Gold. For Kontides, the disappointment of missing Gold was quickly usurped by the realization that he had won a proud Silver medal—the first Olympic medal that Cyprus has ever won in any Olympiad. Rasmus Myrgren (SWE) rounded out the podium with a Bronze.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012— China's Lijia Xu wins gold in Laser Radial
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor,
In an unbelievable tour de force, China's Lijia Xu won Gold in the ultra-competitive Laser Radial class, commanding a decisive lead since the first uphill leg. The Netherlands' Marit Bouwmeester finished in second place overall to claim a Silver medal, while Belgium's Evi Van Acker rounded-out the top three steps of the podium.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012—Laser guns blasting today at Weymouth
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor,
The anticipation is ratcheting up today at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, situated in Portland, UK, where the Laser and Laser Radial classes are contesting their medal races on the Nothe course today, starting at 1300 hours, local time. Thankfully for the competing sailors, a brilliant azure sky and a nice breeze will characterize their medal racing.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Women's RS:X lead to Alabau
ISAF,
Marina Alabau (ESP) will take a 14 point lead into the Women's RS:X Medal Race. Just three points split places two to five making for an exciting race for the medals on Tuesday.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - RS:X Mens gold won with two races to spare
ISAF,
Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) won gold with two races to spare in the Men's RS:X after another exceptional performance.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 sailing competition Carlo Borlenghi
Carlo Borlenghi images,
London Olympics 2012 images sailing competition by photographer Carlo Borlenghi... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Australians in action on day 9 + Video
Craig Heydon,
Tom Slingsby will race for gold in the Laser class on Monday, with the final medal race to take place at 2pm (UK) time on the Nothe spectator course.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Tense day for Team Canada
Canadian Sailing Team,
It was a tense day today at the London Olympic Sailing Competition on the waters off Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy as medal battles were fought and medal race qualification took some final turns. The conditions were lighter than previous, seeing wind in the 10-14 knots range under sunny skies and 14 degrees of air temperature.... [more]
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London Olympics 2012 - Day 8 for the U.S. Sailing Team
Dana Paxton,
Headlining the day at the London Olympic 2012 Sailing Competition, Star sailors Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih finished the Medal Race in sixth to round out their overall standing to seventh place. Bob Willis and Farrah Hall completed their windsurfing series in 22nd and 20th, respectively.... [more]
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