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Qingdao - Final Results
@ Thu Aug 31 10:06:00 +0100 2006
All eleven Medal Races were completed at the Olympic Test Event in Qingdao today, with a fresh south easterly breeze blowing across Fushan Bay and plenty of excitement for the mass of locals gathered out on the breakwater
overlooking the action. Great Britain picked up four gold medals, whilst the hosts China won four medals led by Zhennan FANG’s (CHN) victory in the Men’s RS:X.
The 49ers got the Medal Race action underway on a Course Area A positioned right in front of the harbour wall. Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks (GBR) gave Great Britain the perfect start to the day with a controlled performance in the 49er Medal Race giving them the gold medal.
In the opening race out on Course Area B, Ben Ainslie (GBR) added a final flourish to a remarkable comeback performance in the Finn, winning his first Medal Race in typically emphatic fashion. With the strong breeze giving hiking conditions for the second day running, AINSLIE again proved that – despite a year virtually without even stepping into the Finn – he is still the man to beat in the class.
Athens gold medallist Faustine Merret (FRA) went into today’s Women’s RS:X Medal Race only needing to keep tabs on Limei Sun (CHN) to secure victory, but instead she marched to overall victory with a start to finish win..
For a competitor with such limited experience of international competition, China’s Zhennan Fang was certainly playing it cool in the Men’s RS:X, keeping an eye on his closest challengers before making his move on the final downwind to slip in sixth to take the gold medal.
Olivier Backes and Paul Ambroise Sevestre (FRA) won the all French battle for top honours in the Tornado, providing a fitting finale for the spectators watching the action on Course Area A.
After a slightly off day by their standards in yesterday’s penultimate day of racing in the Yngling, Mandy Mulder , Brechtje Van Derwerf and Janneke Hin (NED) wrapped up their event by taking the finish gun and with it the gold medal.
Olympic bronze medallists Therese Torgersson and Vendela Zachrisson (SWE) won a downwind race to the finish to knock Ingrid Petitjean And Nadege Douroux (FRA) off the top of the Women’s 470 leaderboard and take the gold medal.
Athens silver medallists Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield (GBR) completed a terrific return to the Men’s 470 fleet today, posting a fourth place in the Medal Race to take overall victory.
Paul Goodison (GBR) proved why he is number one in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, cruising to an impressive Medal Race win to secure victory in Qingdao in the Laser Class.
Assured of the gold medal going into today’s Medal Race final in the Laser Radial, Paige Railey (USA) was still keen to get off the line and show her form. But, she was just a bit too keen and it wasn’t until Railey was some way up the opening windward leg that she realised her error of being on course side (OCS) at the gun and returned to re-cross the line. Even by Railey’s demanding standards, she found herself in a position from which it was impossible to recover and went onto finish the race in last position and with it added 20 points to her scoreline.
Victory in today’s Medal Race went to Anna Tunnicliffe (USA). Tunnicliffe put in some excellent results and claimed the most bullets in the series, but these were interspersed with double-digit results which held her back from the podium places.
The Star fleet wrapped up their series today with the leading three crews assured of a podium finish, but just the medal colour undetermined. The remaining teams in the fleet chose not to take to the water, but watch the colour of the medals unfurl.
The order of the boats across the line was the order of the medals claimed, with Andrew Horton and Brad Nichol (USA) taking the gun and the gold medal, Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell (GBR) coming in second place for the silver and George Szabo and Eric Monroe (USA) third and the bronze.
Final podium positions:
RS: X Women
1. Faustine Merret, FRA, 19 points
2. Limei Sun, CHN, 44
3. Jian Yin, CHN, 48
RS: X Men
1. Zhennan Fang, CHN, 57
2. Feng He, CHN, 62
3. King Yin Chan, HKG, 63
Laser
1. Paul Goodison, GBR, 81
2. Steven Le Fevre, NED, 92
3. Andrew Murdoch, NZL, 97
Laser Radial
1. Paige Railey, USA, 54
2. Jo Aleh, NZL, 71
3. Penny Clark, GBR, 73
Finn
1. Ben Ainslie, GBR, 12
2. Emilios Papathanasiou, GRE, 40
3. Jonas Hogh-Christensen, DEN, 49
470 Men
1. Nick Rogers / Joe Glanfield, GBR, 64.3
2. Daeyoung Kim / Sungahn Jung, KOR, 89
3. Nic Asher / Elliot Willis, GBR, 93
470 Women
1. Therese Torgersson / Vendela Zachrisson, SWE, 79
2. Ingrid Petitjean / Nadege Douroux, FRA, 84
3. Stefanie Rothweiler / Vivien Kussatz, GER, 86
Star
1. Andrew Horton / J. Brad Nichol, USA, 21
2. Iain Percy / Steve Mitchell, GBR, 22
3. George Szabo / Eric Monroe, USA, 28
Tornado
1. Olivier Backes / Paul Ambroise Sevestre, FRA, 4
2. Xavier Revil / Christophe Espagnon, FRA, 48.0
3. Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher, AUT, 52.0
49er
1. Chris Draper / Simon Hiscocks, GBR, 45
2. Emmanuel Dyen / Yann Rocherieux, FRA, 54
3. Rodion Luka / Georgiy Leonchuk, UKR, 67
Yngling
1. Mandy Mulder / Brechtje Van Derwerf / Janneke Hin, NED, 25.0
2. Helena Lucas / Annie Lush / Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 32.0
3. Xiaqun Song / Xiaoni Li / Chuanshuang Zhang, CHN, 43.0
Complete results athttp://www.2006qdregatta.com
Qingdao - Rock and Roll
Scuttlebutt Europe @ Wed Aug 30 10:28:00 +0100 2006
Wind gusting over 20 knots and huge rolling waves made for a spectacular day of racing as the opening series concluded at the Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China. After an action packed day on Fushan Bay, just the eleven
Medal Races remain to decide the winners of the ISAF Grade 2 Qingdao International Regatta.
‘Rock and roll!’ was how French Tornado sailor Xavier REVIL summed up conditions today after taking two bullets and pole position before tomorrow’s Medal Race.
France also hold the lead in the Women’s 470 and RS:X fleets, but it is the Brits who continue to dominate proceedings. Today Ben Ainslie (GBR) joined Paige Railey (USA) as an assured winner in tomorrow’s Medal Races,
and the British team continue to hold top spot on four other leaderboards. Elsewhere, the hosts China lead in the Men’s RS:X, whilst the Netherlands hold the top spot in the Yngling and Slovenia tie for the lead in the Laser.
After a week of racing in predominantly light conditions, the forecasted seven to nine knots became an 18 knot north easterly as the fleets left the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre for the scheduled 13:00 starts. With the wind gusting well over 20 knots and whipping up a big swell as the rain hammered down, it was not a day for the fainthearted.
The heavy weather gave a perfect opportunity for some of the big wind specialists to shine, and particularly in the windsurfer fleets, there were some new names regularly rounding the marks first. Across the fleets just two of the top spots changed hands, but several fleets have tightened up considerably, promising plenty of excitement in tomorrow’s Medal Races.
http://sailing.org andhttp://www.2006qdregatta.com
The Pre-Pre Olympics in Qingdao are proving to be a real wake up call for many.
The facilities would appear to be outstanding in terms of their standard, functionality and state of readiness. The fact that they are completed two years before the start of the Sailing Olympics is without precedent in Olympic sailing history. However fine facilities do not a sailing Olympics make.
On the water it is quite a different story, with conditions which would be described in polite circles as ‘difficult’. One only has to read report of current that is as strong as the wind, and beats that are less than five minutes long, and the suitability of Qingdao for the Olympic Regatta has to be questioned, and surely will in the coming months. —
http://www.sail-world.com
Frustration was the overriding sentiment at the Olympic test regatta in China as varying winds and race management combined to create racing unworthy of elite level competition.
The International Sailing Federation said courses and schedules might have to change to ensure a satisfactory Games regatta in 2008.
Saturday saw a big swell and seasickness among the sailors, while in other races the windspeed dropped to below two knots.
In yesterday’s men’s 470 race, a new windward mark was signalled but the new buoy was not laid before the leaders had sailed beyond it. Britain’s Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield lost the series lead as a result.
The ISAF will discuss the problems in November. Among their options for Beijing 2008 will be reducing the number of races and altering the number and angle of the legs sailed.
—
Tim Jeffery in the Telegraph,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/08/28/sosail28.xml&sSheet=/sport/2006/08/28/ixothspt.html
Qingdao - Brits on Fire
@ Tue Aug 29 10:37:00 +0100 2006
A great day for the British sailors in Qingdao means they hit the lead across five of the fleets at the Olympic Test Event in China. Ben Ainslie (GBR) led the charge at the ISAF Grade 2 Qingdao International Regatta with another two bullets to continue his remarkable comeback to the Finn class.
Along with Ainslie, GBR appears at the top of the leaderboard in the Laser, Mens 470 and 49er fleets, whilst Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell (GBR) tie with Andy Horton and Brad Nichol (USA) for top spot in the Star. Top three spots in the Yngling and Laser Radial complete the British success story so far.
Whereas Ainslies success has been built on a relentless succession of bullets, elsewhere the British strategy of conservatism seems to be paying dividends. If consistency wins regattas then nowhere has that been more true than in Qingdao over the past week. The high quality fleets, light conditions experienced so far, strong current and especially the sailors unfamiliarity with the waters of Fushan Bay have put a premium on staying away from the double figure scores.
470 European Champions Benjamin Bonnaud and Romain Bonnaud (FRA) provide the perfect example. They are the only team in the Mens 470 fleet counting three top-three finishes (two bullets and a second), but lie 14th overall, with finishes of 35,23,33,32 also on their scorecard.
Today the wind was again light but stable, with the scheduled races completed across all the race areas, except for the Womens RS:X. They will return to Fushan Bay tomorrow to complete the final races of their opening series along with all the other classes except the Laser and Laser Radial, who finished their last race of the opening series today.
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