DURING THE EPIC OLYMPIC GAMES in Rio, Brazil Aug 8-18, China’s Penia Chen won a silver in RS:X Women, the only medal claimed by an Asian sailor among the 10 sailing medal races in the edition. Croatia took medals in the Game for the first time, with sailors returning home with one gold and one silver. Australia and New Zealand shined at the regatta, claiming four medals each.
DURING THE EPIC OLYMPIC GAMES in Rio, Brazil Aug 8-18, China’s Penia Chen won a silver in RS:X Women, the only medal claimed by an Asian sailor among the 10 sailing medal races in the edition. Croatia took medals in the Game for the first time, with sailors returning home with one gold and one silver. Australia and New Zealand shined at the regatta, claiming four medals each.
Charline Picon (FRA) won gold in the Women’s Windsurfer (RS:X), although starting rather badly. Penia Chen took silver and Lillian de Geus (NED) won bronze.
Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) took the lead on the last lap of Men’s Windsurfer (RS:X) and won the race easily, the Dutchman cementing his status as the 2016 Olympic Champion. Nick Dempsey (GBR) crossed the line in fourth place, his silver already secure. But the battle for third was raging at the back of the fleet and Le Coq did enough to overtake the reigning World Champion Piotr Myszka (POL) in the second half of the race to win the bronze medal.
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 saw a dramatic racing. Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) won gold after a heart-stopping Medal Race. Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) took silver and bronze goes to Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank (AUT).
Tom Burton (AUS) won Olympic gold in the Men’s One Person Dinghy after a tense pre-start battle with Tonci Stipanovic (CRO). Even if Stipanovic let gold slip from his grasp, he has still won Croatia’s first ever medal in Olympic sailing. Sam Meech (NZL) took bronze.
Marit Bouwmeester (NED) won the Laser Radial gold medal that eluded her four years ago. Silver went to Annalise Murphy (IRL), a sweet reward after finishing an agonising fourth place at London 2012. Anne- Marie Rindom (DEN) took bronze.
Giles Scott (GBR) had already wrapped up the Finn gold medal before contesting the medal race, but Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) secured silver, the third Olympic medal of his career, while Caleb Paine (USA) sailed a great race to clinch bronze on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) course.
Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic won Croatia’s first gold medal in Olympic sailing in 470 Men. Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) took silver, and Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) followed with a bronze.
Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark won the 470 Women gold medal. Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA) took up the early running and led for the first lap, putting them in silver medal position ahead of the 2012 Olympic Champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL).
Kiwi duo Peter Burling and Blair Tuke got the gold in 49er Men, followed by Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) and Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel.
The crowd on Flamengo Beach went wild as Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) won gold in 49er FX by just two seconds from Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) in a nailbiting final run to the finish. New Zealand took silver and bronze went to Denmark’s Jena Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen.
www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/home.php
