Mens RS:X at London 2012 - Day 5: Smiley happy Dutchman wraps it up
by ISAF 5 Aug 2012 21:51 BST
5 August 2012
Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) won gold with two races to spare in the Men's RS:X after another exceptional performance today.
The Dutchman won Race 9 before pulling out of Race 10 having already sewn up the gold medal. On pulling out at the first mark Van Rijsselberge said, "I started, and then I felt I was in the way of the other guys so I made the decision to help out my fellow competitors."
On his emotions after winning van Rijsselberge said, "Feeling good, feeling happy, jumping in the air. It's good to show people you don't have to be miserable."
With an unassailable 22 point lead the Dutchman cannot be caught meaning the race is on for silver. Nick Dempsey (GBR) currently holds second place on 35 points which is 11 ahead of Germany's Toni Wilhelm. Despite missing out on the gold he aimed and hope for Dempsey was content, "I knew he'd won halfway through the first race. He deserves it," he said. "I don't feel too bad. It's not like I lost it, more like he [van Rijsselberge] won it. He sailed better than me, and deserved to win."
Although he was a good advantage and chance to hold onto silver the Brit is also very wary, "I don't feel completely confident, there's a lot that could go wrong."
Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) trails Wilhelm by six points and will want to do the absolute most he can to take the only medal that's eluded him so far in his career, an Olympic one.
The Men's RS:X Medal Race takes place at 13:00 local time on 7 August on the Nothe Course.
Results after Day 5: (top five, 10 races)
1. Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) - 13pts
2. Nick Dempsey (GBR) - 35pts
3. Toni Wilhelm (GER) - 46pts
4. Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) - 52pts
5. Byron Kokalanis (GRE) - 65pts
www.sailing.org/olympics/london2012