Scores of fifth, seventh and eighth from the RS:X Men’s three races on Guanabara Bay last night mean Dempsey, who turns 36 today, can not lose the silver in tomorrow’s Medal Race. But as London 2012 champion Van Rijsselberge won the first two races of the day all eyes turned to the various medal permutations that could arise from the third and final race of the day. The result is subject to protest, and both sailors will still have to sail the Medal Race, but van Rijsselberghe and Dempsey were already congratulating each other after crossing the finish line of the 12th race of their series.
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“If they show up Sunday and sail, they win”, a World Sailing press spokesman said. But gold is out of his reach with Dorian Van Rijsselberge from the Netherlands doing enough to claim overall victory.
“I’m just happy I got a medal, I didn’t think about my age; I was just competing and when you’re in the water everybody is the same, added the Olympic debutant who vowed to be back in for years to challenge for another medal”. She will not advance to the medal race.
With only six points separating the top six of 10 sailors qualified for the medal round after 12 preliminary races, the gold, silver and bronze were mathematically attainable by most of the final-round sailboarders.
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In the men’s Laser one-person dinghy class, Brazil’s Robert Scheidt increased his chances of winning a record sixth Olympic sailing medal with fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the roller-coaster waves and light winds of the “Pai” open-ocean course outside Guanabara Bay. Pre-event favourite Nick Dempsey of Great Britain had to settle for silver, as 27-year-old Frenchman Pierre Le Coq took bronze.
