Sailing at the Olympics - Finn Race Results

Sailing at the Olympics - Finn Race Results
Qingdao, China - The first day of sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics saw light winds and some surprising upsets, with 4 to 6 knots and clear blue skies filtered by less than the usual air pollution. The first scheduled race of the day was in the Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy) class, which was won in rather elegant fashion by Emilios Papathanasiou of Greece, however it is Rafal Szukiel of Poland who now leads the Finn in overall standings. The second Finn race was won by Ben Ainsle, who now sits third in the standings along with Chris Cook of Canada, and behind Zach Railey of the US, now in second overall.



The first Olympic Finn race was delayed for 20 minutes due to light winds, and the humidity, heat, and strong currents made for some slow-action sailing conditions on the course in Qingdao once the racing began. The first sailing race of the Olympic Games saw Jonas Hoegh-Christensen of Denmark, followed by Giorgio Poggi of Italy, and Rafal Szukiel of Poland first around the first mark. Although Ben Ainslie rounded the first mark in fifth, he quickly came from up on the tails of the leaders, and began to dominate the fleet. All was looking well for Ben, and you could see his confidence build as he watched his lead over the fleet grow. It looked very much like a done deal, and that Ben Ainslie was about to win the first Finn race of Olympics.



Olympics Sailing Ben Aislie Great Britain Olympic Sailing TeamYou could almost hear the collective gasp all the way from the UK, when about halfway down the last leg the wind shifted, then became nearly non-existent. Ainslie immediately started losing his lead on the fleet, and all of a sudden sailors started passing the 31 year old from Great Britain left and right. “There was a significant wind shift and the wind just shut down,” Ben Ainslie explained. “The current was going in the other direction, which pushed me all the way to the left.”



This was just the luck Emilios Papathanasiou of Greece was looking for, and the sailor steadily overtook Ainslie, moving to the front of the fleet. Zach Railey of the USA also took advantage of the situation, and moved from behind the pack to finish in second place, as did Rafal Szukiel of Poland, who finished third. Ainslie was deflated, as were his fans, when he crossed the finish line in 10th place, but he was not defeated.



The second Finn race at the Olympics also saw light winds. Ainslie once again dominated downwind, to lead the fleet round the bottom gate, but in this race, Ben Ainslie held on to his lead, winning race two by 12 seconds. "In the second race, I was a little bit frustrated and I was still trying to get over the first race mentally. I got a good start and I worked my way around." said Ainslie.



Rafal Szukiel, fought his way to a second place finish in race 2, and is currently first overall in the Finn class at the Olympics with 5 points. “I like light wind,” said the Olympic sailor at the end of his races, adding, “you must understand the current as well.” As has been said: It's going to be the sailiors who can react to the strange Qingdao conditions who will prevail.



Sailing Olympics US Sailing Team Zach RileySzukiel is followed on the leader-board by Zach Railey of the US Olympic Sailing Team, who finished second and fifth for seven points. Railey commented on the light winds on the course, “These are the conditions we were expecting in Qingdao - it was typical Qingdao sailing. The fleet is very tight and it is very close racing.”



British sailor Ben Ainslie is currently tied with Christopher Cook of Canada for third place overall in the Finn class with 11 points. But don't count Ben out yet. Ainslie already has two Olympic gold medals and one silver, and his quick response to the conditions between the two races was obvious in the finish. Ben earned his first Olympic medal when he was just 19 year's old, sailing the Laser at the 1996 Olympic Games. He went on to win a gold medal in Athens sailing the Finn, and another gold in Sydney in the Laser class.



As an aside, the women's Yngling races have also started sailing at the Olympics in Qingdao. The British team of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson, often refered to as "three blondes in a boat," got off to a great start in China, and are at the top the women's leaderboard for the Yngling class.



More news and results on the Finn, Yngling, and 49er sailboat races (which start today) at the Olympics are coming soon.




Olympic Sailing Race Results

Finn Olympic Class Heavy-Weight Dinghy - Race 01

Finn Race 01

1 Greece - Emilios PAPATHANASIOU
2 United States - Zach RAILEY
3 Poland - Rafal SZUKIEL
4 India
JOHAL Nachhatar Singh
5 France
FLORENT Guillaume
6 Brazil
COUTO Eduardo
7 Croatia
KLJAKOVIC-GASPIC Ivan
8 Canada
COOK Christopher
9 Slovenia
VINCEC Gasper
10 Great Britain
AINSLIE Ben
11 Australia
NOSSITER Anthony
12 Spain
TRUJILLO Rafa
13 Cyprus
PAPADOPOULOS Haris
14 Sweden
BIRGMARK Daniel
15 Czech Republic
MAIER Michael
16 Denmark
HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN Jonas
17 Italy
POGGI Giorgio
18 Finland
NIRKKO Tapio
19 Netherlands
POSTMA Pieter-Jan
20 Turkey
TUFEKCI Ali Kemal
21 New Zealand
SLATER Dan
22 Ireland
GOODBODY Tim
23 Norway
MOBERG Peer
24 Russian Fed.
SKORNYAKOV Eduard
25 China
ZHANG Peng
26 Venezuela
BILBAO BANDE Jhonny Senen

Sailing Olympics Canada Olympic Sailing Team
Olympic Sailing Race Results


Finn Olympic Class Heavy-Weight Dinghy - Race 02

Finn Race 02

1 Great Britain - Ben AINSLIE
2 Poland - Rafal SZUKIEL
3 Canada - Chris COOK
4 Spain
Rafa TRUJILLO
5 United States
Zach RAILEY
6 Denmark
Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN
7 Italy
Giorgio POGGI
8 France
Guillaume FLORENT
9 Finland
Tapio NIRKKO
10 Croatia
Ivan KLJAKOVIC-GASPIC
11 Slovenia
Gasper VINCEC
12 Venezuela
Jhonny Senen BILBAO BANDE
13 Ireland
Tim GOODBODY
14 Czech Republic
Michael MAIER
15 Netherlands
Pieter-Jan POSTMA
16 Brazil
Eduardo COUTO
17 Sweden
Daniel BIRGMARK
18 Cyprus
Haris PAPADOPOULOS
19 New Zealand
Dan SLATER
20 Russian Fed.
Eduard SKORNYAKOV
21 Turkey
Ali Kemal TUFEKCI
22 Australia
Anthony NOSSITER
23 China
Peng ZHANG
24 India
Nachhatar Singh JOHAL
- Greece
Emilios PAPATHANASIOU
DNF
- Norway
Peer MOBERG
DSQ

Sailing Olympics Finn Olympic sailing

Olympic Sailing Race Results


Finn Olympic Class Heavy-Weight Dinghy - OVERALL

Finn Overall Standings & Points

1. Rafal Szukiel (Poland) 5
2. Zach Railey (U.S.) 7
3. Ben Ainslie (Britain) 11
3. Chris Cook (Canada) 11
5. Guillaume Florent (France) 13
6. Rafael Trujillo (Spain) 16
7. Ivan Kljakovic-Gaspic (Croatia) 17
8. Gasper Vincec (Slovenia) 20
9. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (Denmark)22
9. Eduardo Couto (Brazil) 22
11. Giorgio Poggi (Italy) 24
12. Tapio Nirkko (Finland) 27
13. Emilios Papathanasiou (Greece) 28
14. Nachhatar Singh Johal (India) 28
15. Michael Maier (Czech Republic) 29
16. Haris Papadopoulos (Cyprus) 31
17. Daniel Birgmark (Sweden) 31
18. Anthony Nossiter (Australia) 33
19. Pieter-Jan Postma (Netherlands) 34
20. Tim Goodbody (Ireland) 35

- K. Hampton for YachtPals.com



Olympics Sailing Finn Sailing at Olympics



READ MORE ABOUT THE FINN CLASS SAILBOAT, OR SAILING AT THE Olympics:

* Olympics (all news, photos, boat information, and blogs about sailing at the Olympics)
* Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics - Sailing
* Olympic Goo - Algae Invades Qingdao Sailing Venue
* From the Olympic Sailing Center in China
* Spy Drones, Algae, and Dirty Air - Sailing at the Olympics
* Goo Gone - Sailing Center Cleared of Algae for the Olympics
* Interview with Sarah Mergenthaller of the US Olympic Sailing Team
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - Laser and Laser Radial Sailboats
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - Tornado Class Catamarans
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - Yngling Class Sailboats
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - The Star Class Sailboats
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - The FINN Class Sailboats
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - The 470 Class Sailboats
* Olympic Sailing 2008 - The 49er Class Sailboats
* Sailors in the Spotlight - 2008 Olympic Sailing Teams
* Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics - US Olympic Sailing Team




-- Sailing at the 2008 Olympics - Quick Look at Olympic Sailing Classes --

Multihull Sailboat = Tornado
Skiff Doublehanded Open Sailboat = 49er
Women's Windsurfer = RS:X
Women's One Person Sailing Dinghy = Laser Radial
Women's Two Person Sailing Dinghy = 470
Women's Keelboat = Yngling
Men's Windsurfer = RS:X
Men's One Person Sailing Dinghy = Laser
Men's One Person Sailing Dinghy = FINN
Men's Two Person Sailing Dinghy = 470
Men's Keelboat = Star