Duo aiming for a strong finish

Ashford sailor Sophie Ainsworth and partner Charlotte Dobson want to end their Rio 2016 campaign on a high in the 49erFX medal race tonight (Thursday).

Dobson and Ainsworth went into the final day of racing on Tuesday night in sixth overall knowing a good day on Guanabara Bay could leave them primed for a shot at the podium ahead of the double-points medals decider at 6pm BST.

However, the duo slipped down to seventh and effectively out of medal contention after recording finishes of 15th, 14th and eighth in the final three runs of the 12-race competition.

They had been second, fifth and ninth the previous day having begun the competition with second and 11th placed finishes on Friday and then adding fifth, eighth, seventh and 10th places on a gruelling Saturday schedule.

Rio was the Brits’ first Games in the new women’s Skiff class and Ainsworth, 27, and Dobson, 30, have already turned their thoughts ahead four years to Tokyo.

Dobson said: “We will just be trying to put together the best race we possibly can and do ourselves justice on the Sugarloaf course.

“It’s a tricky race course and will be a good opportunity to see what an Olympic medal race is about.

“Tuesday was a disappointing day, we had a case of the slows for the first race and then struggled to get back into it. In the third we managed to put it together a little bit better but all in all, a fairly disappointing day and not what we needed.”

She added: “I’d love to campaign for 2020. It’s been amazing fun and while we’re disappointed right now, I’d love to be able to do it again.”

‘We will just be trying to put together the best race we can’