Going into the medal race on Thursday, it's Zofia Klepacka
(POL) who is in the box seat at the Weymouth and Portland
International Regatta.
She leads the RS:X Women's Windsurfing fleet by 3 points over Marina Alabau (ESP).
If Marina is to win outright, she will need to take the gun and have Zofia finish 3rd. Having 1 board between the 2 in the medal race where points count double will do it.
The Nothe Medal race course may well produce a major turnover. The wind is gusty and apt to shift unpredictably so predictions are hard to make but Zofia has only finished outside the top 3 once against Marina who has dropped outside the top 5 twice.
If I were a betting man, which I'm not my money would be on Zofia…
Over in the RS:X Men's Windsurfing fleet, Nick Dempsey (GBR) is guaranteed the silver medal so has nothing to lose in taking the fight to Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED).
He has a 7 point lead. Nick needs to be put 3 boards between himself and Dorian. This is a big ask when one looks at how closely matched they have been all week. So, only a last minute disaster can stop Dorian taking gold at the London 2012 Test Event. His first big win and one which will give him a psychological boost going into the RS:X European Windfsurfing Championships starting on September 10th in Burgas, Bulgaria.
The bronze is up for grabs. Julien Bontemps (FRA) and Byron Kokalanis (GRE) will be duking it out with Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) for the final place on the podium.
No doubt Jon Paul Tobin (NZL) will want to join that trio. He had a slow start to the regatta due to a bout of flu, which did nothing to boost his claim to the single qualifying spot to represent New Zealand at the 2012 Games. he has to make the most of the opportunity tomorrow.
Good luck to one and all...
RS:X Men’s Windsurfing results: http://www.sailing.org/uploads/WPIR2011/RSXM_Results.pdf
RS:X Women’s Windsurfing results: http://www.sailing.org/uploads/WPIR2011/RSXW_Results.pdf
