Capsize, disqualified calamity
Games nightmare continues for Kiwi sailors, as Maloney and Meech, and Burling and Tuke endure disappointing starts
Alex Maloney and Molly Meech, the Rio silver medallists, had a disastrous start to their Tokyo Olympic 49er FX campaign when they capsized in race one and were disqualified in race two.
The Kiwi sailors were in fifth place when they went into the water during the opening race. While they got the boat back up, they finished a disappointing 16th.
It was a rough start for the leading lights from Rio five years ago, with the 2016 gold medallists Brazil finishing 15th in race one.
A number of leading crews struck trouble as the breeze lifted but the Kiwis fared the worst, with dramatic shots showing Maloney and Meech plunging into the water as their boat tipped over.
Britain’s Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey went on to win the first of the 12 races, ahead of Spain and the United States and followed that with a win in the second when the US leaders crashed into the water after hitting shifty conditions.
Seeking to pick themselves up after race one, Maloney and Meech went over the start line early in race two and were disqualified. They continued to sail, heading the field, as they are allowed to do.
In further drama, Spain capsized in the second race and dropped back through the field, while there was a crash between Germany and Norway.
Maloney and Meech bounced back in race three to finish fifth, and with the format allowing each crew to drop the worst result from their overall score, the pair sit 13th after the opening day of racing.
The news got little better for the Kiwi contingent when Peter Burling and Blair Tuke were finally able to
race. The America’s Cup stars are the hot favourites in a strong 49ers field but started with a 12th placing.
Only one race was possible on the opening day, when three were scheduled, because of time limits protecting local fishing enterprises.
There was a delay of over an hour because of light winds before the first race attempt, which was abandoned shortly after the start because of unfair conditions.
After a brief delay, Burling and Tuke started badly in the first of their 12 races by losing out in a scuffle with the South Africans. The defending Olympic and sixtime world champions were second-last for a while in the 19-boat fleet.
Robert Dickison and Sean Waddilove from Ireland led for long periods and pipped Brits Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell in a thrilling finish. Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel, the Rio bronze medallists, were third.
There were further struggles for Sam Meech — brother of Molly — who has a mountain to climb to replicate his bronze from Rio.
Meech finished 16th in his fourth race — the first of the day — at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour to put him 19th overall.
Meech finished 1m 29s behind race winner Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus.