Olympic sailing round-up
G old medals for Giles Scott in the Finn heavyweight dinghy class and Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark in the 470 Women’s dinghy class, plus Nick Dempsey’s RS:X windsurfing silver, ensured Britain has topped the best sailing nation table for four of the last five Olympics.
The results saw Britain reclaim the top sailing nation title after losing it to Australia at the London 2012 Games. With 17 countries claiming the 30 medals from 10 events between them, British Sailing Team manager Stephen Park thinks Rio lived up to its reputation as one of the most difficult places in the world to sail. At London 2012, the same number of medals was spread between 15 countries.
Park said: ‘The spread of medals shows the diversity, challenge and level of competition we have seen here. Our team have pulled together well, the coaches and support staff have done an absolutely excellent job, and everyone has stuck together right until the very end. They absolutely deserve to go home as the top nation in the medal table.’
Some of the British Sailing Team support staff will return to Rio for the Paralympic sailing regatta, which takes place between 12-17 September, but for everyone else all eyes are turning to Tokyo 2020 in preparation for the next Olympic regatta in Enoshima Yacht Harbor in Fujisawa.
Park added: ‘I think the sailing itself in Tokyo is going to be, on the face of it, far more simple than in Rio. It is predominantly a moderate to strong wind venue and, as a country, we are traditionally good in those conditions.’
Several of Britain’s Olympic sailors are expected to attend the opening of Southampton Boat Show on 16 September, along with celebrity guest Michelle Keegan. Find out more details at southamptonboatshow.com.