OCTOBER 2004 - Finn

The breeze had been building all day and it
was in a still increasing 12 knot wind that the
fleet started. Although the top two retained
and pulled out their lead, from third backwards
shifted positions enormously. Rafael went
from third down to fourth as Ben recovered
from a bad start to finish third by the gun.
at the top of the race became an enjoyable
trip for me. [In race eight] After a while they
raised the pumping flag so I could work my
way up. In general the second race was
better, yet for me it was a nightmare. I had a
good start and was going pretty well but
suddenly I was too slow. Everybody started
to pass me and I ended up in the middle of
the fleet making one mistake after the other.”
Day six
The results of race eight mean that Ben took
an eight point advantage over Rafael into the
final three races, with Mateusz’s victory
allowing him to retain a slim lead over
Sebastian.
Ben commented, “It was a tough day today,
with this tricky light sea breeze in the morning.
I was second in the first race. In the second
race, I didn’t have a very good start, I was
tenth so finally finishing third was another
solid result. Mateusz had a good race in the
last one too. With three races to go I have to
make no mistakes and see how it goes.”
Rafael commented, “I am happy only for the
second race, there were nice conditions. The
sea breeze was really nice. In the first race
I made a mistake and I was OCS. The Finn
class has a very high level, Ainslie,
Kusznierewicz, Godefroid and I will fight it until
the last leg. It’s a surprise but it’s good for me.”
Mateusz said, “A difficult race for me as I was
over the line, so I had to go back because I
couldn’t risk receiving an OCS. Hence, I
stayed behind and during the race I couldn’t
bounce back. The problem is that Ben is so
far in front that unless he makes some
mistakes, he is bound to win the gold.
Sebastien agreed, “...each one of us has a
lot of ups and downs, except Ben who only
has ups. Sailing in these wind conditions,
means that once you are up front or behind,
there is not much you can do. I was lucky
because I had a very good start; thus being
Trivia: 2004 is the first year ever that the
reigning World Champion has won an
Olympic Gold and the first time the
reigning World Champion has won any
Olympic medal since André Nelis won
bronze in 1956
Race nine – local hero wins again
Race nine started in the southerly sea breeze
that was pretty unstable and it was local sailor
Emilios who took full advantage of the shifts
early on in the race. By the first windward
mark he had already established a slim lead,
and whatever happened, he maintained
composure to take the race win. Following
his request for redress to the International
Jury and the examination of video evidence
after being scored OCS the previous day, he
was granted average points for race 7.
Ben started conservatively and rounded the
first mark in fifth place, 39 seconds behind
the leader, but in true form, he slowly chipped
away at those in front and eventually did
enough to score a second place finish.
Pushing Emilios right to the wire, he closed
the gap to a mere nine seconds.
Behind Ben, the race was turning into a game
of snakes and ladders. Karlo and Michael
Maier swapped third and fourth places
between them all race, with the battle
eventually being won by the Karlo.
Race ten – Ben wins again
Mateusz had a blip to his quest for a medal
during the middle of the schedule, when an
OCS and a bad race dropped him from first
to sixth overall, but he redeemed himself in
race ten.
Starting conservatively he rounded the first
mark in fourth and worked the shifty breeze
well, first of all picking off Gasper Vincec
before overtaking Karlo to claim second place.
In front of him his only view was the familiar
transom of Ben, who led from start to finish
to claim a fourth race win.
Setting themselves up for a good final race
on Saturday, second placed Rafael scored
good fifth and fourth places. To prevent Ben
securing his second Gold medal he had to
finish 14 places ahead of him. All of the medal
prospects have at least one high score in
their results so there is no room for error.
Following racing today Ben spoke about
facing a lay-day at this time in the competition.
“Obviously tomorrow it will be difficult to relax,
but I just have to prepare myself for the final
day on Saturday.”
He continued, “I am happy with the day but
there’s still one more race to go so I can’t get
too excited. I’ve got to keep an eye on Rafa
as he is sailing really well. There’s still a long
way to go.”
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004