World Sailing: Day 7 analysis, the medal that nearly wasn’t

What a day! We waited a while for the Skiff Medal Races to happen, but today’s conditions came good for a spectacular conclusion to the 49ers and the 49erFX in particular.

Women’s Skiff Medal Race

It was the most dramatic of conclusions to a Medal Race, but after the longest five minutes of their lives, Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz (NED) could finally start celebrating their Olympic gold medal.

After a solid start and great first windward leg, the Dutch rounded the first mark right on the tail of the Norwegians also in contention for the medals, Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen. The Norwegians luffed up to defend themselves against the Dutch, and Sweden’s Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler grabbed an opportunity for a slick gybe-hoist to plane away at high speed down the opposite side of the downwind leg.

It was a great attacking move by the Swedes, looking to move up from bronze medal position. Meanwhile further back were the French, Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon, who had started in gold medal position, but effectively level-pegging on points with the Dutch. They rounded the top mark in sixth, which put them back into bronze and close to being edged off the podium by the Norwegians up the front.

Sailing up the second windward leg the French found a great way through gusts and windshifts to start threatening Sweden for the silver while the Norwegians dropped back down the order.

Down the final run to the finish, the Dutch were looking clear ahead of the USA’s Steph Roble and Maggie Shea in second. Both boats charged towards the race committee boat, but the Swedes in third turned left past the committee boat towards… towards the actual finish!

Realising their monumental error, the American and Dutch boats quickly changed the course and charged towards the finish line. The Swedes crossed in first and celebrated like they had won gold. Perhaps they had! For a moment, no one knew. The Italians had also taken advantage of the confusion to cross in second. The Dutch managed to haul themselves across the line in third just ahead of New Zealand. But what of the gold? Was it still theirs?

Steyaert and Picon cross in sixth, a place behind the outgoing Olympic Champions from Brazil. The French capsized in celebration. They knew they had won a medal and that was a massive achievement for a team that few had marked as favourites for a podium performance. The Swedes capsized too, knowing they had completed their week in the best possible way, with an unexpected victory in the Medal Race.

But what of the Dutch? Their coach, Kai Böcker, hurriedly got out the printed sailing instructions from his waterproof bag. He checked his tablet computer. Finally, it began to dawn on them. They started to believe the photographers gathered round in ribs, yelling at them that ‘Yes! You HAVE won!’

And so the capsize and the celebrations began. Job done for the Dutch, but not without a massive twist in the tale.

Men’s Skiff Medal Race: Smooth Sailing by Spain

Diego Botin and Florian Trittel have claimed the Olympic gold medal for Spain in the Men’s Skiff. After making a great start and moving into an early lead, the Spaniards maintained their advantage throughout the two-lap race to win comfortably.

For Botin, today is redemption for his two past Olympic campaigns. Sailing with former crew Iago Marra, Botin narrowly missed the Spanish spot for Rio 2016. Then in Tokyo 2020, Botin and Marra looked on track for a bronze medal until they let it slip to the German crew.

So today’s Olympic victory has been a long time in the making for Botin. After racing in Tokyo 2020 in the Nacra 17 foiling catamaran, Trittel teamed up with Botin less than three years ago but today’s success is the culmination of a well executed campaign.

They brought in New Zealand coach Hamish Willcox to the Spanish campaign. Willcox, a three-time world champion in the 470 class, coached Pete Burling and Blair Tuke to Rio gold and Tokyo silver in the 49er class, and now he has coached another team from another nation to the ultimate prize.

Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie (NZL) came in as an outside prospect for a podium finish but the young Kiwis have sailed a really mature regatta. New Zealand rounded behind Spain at the first turning mark and, provided the wind held steady, looked good for the silver medal.

On the second lap the Kiwis were overtaken by Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken who held second across the finish line, but a third place in the Medal Race was sufficient for the McKiwis to claim silver for New Zealand. Following the silver, gold, silver won by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, this latest silver extends a strong legacy for the Kiwis in the Men’s Skiff event.

Further back was a close battle for the bronze. Ireland’s Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove have been in the top three all week, but a poor first leg saw them struggling in seventh place around the top mark. Croatia’s Fantela brothers had already taken themselves out of the race after breaching the start too soon and heading home early, but the USA’s Ian Barrows and Hans Henken were a couple of places in front of Ireland at the first mark.

The bronze medal ebbed and flowed between IRL and USA throughout the two-lap race but when Dickson and Waddilove slipped back to ninth and the Americans moved up to fourth across the finish line, the bronze went to the USA. This is the first medal for the USA in the Men’s Skiff since the event made its debut at Sydney 2000, when brothers Jonathan and Charlie McKee won bronze. Charlie was part of the coaching team behind Barrows and Henken’s success today.