49er class at Athens 2004 Overall
by Magnus Wheatley 26 Aug 2004 21:37 BST
Chris Draper & Simon Hiscocks win 49er bronze at the Athens 2004 Olympic regatta © Richard Langdon
“To be honest, it wasn’t really what I came to Athens for,” said a disappointed Chris Draper moments after securing the bronze medal in the 49er class. “I guess we got out-psyched by the bronze medal and it just wasn’t our day.”
However the British duo of Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks can take solace in their medal – a major achievement for any athlete – before ruing their last race where there was still the outside chance of a gold medal.
After a two hour delay, racing finally got underway out on the glistening Saronic Gulf and it was the Ukranians, Rodion Luka and George Leonchuk that looked by far the more determined team on the water who secured their silver medal with a third place.
Draper and Hiscocks were playing catch-up almost from the start and could only record a sixth place just ahead of the gold medallists from Spain Iker Martinez and Xavier Fernandez. The Spanish have been the form team throughout the sixteen race series, showing flashes of brilliance in the light winds that suits their boat-handling style and with a nine point cushion overnight, merely needed a steady result today to secure the gold medal. They did just that cruising across the finish line in seventh and blasting back to shore to be greeted by a jubilant Spanish sailing team who haven’t enjoyed much success in Athens.
In winning the bronze, Draper and Hiscocks secured Britain’s 25th medal of the tournament and have brought to a close the medal rush for the sailors with neither Iain Percy in the Star’s or Leigh Macmillan in the Tornados able to break through into contention. Percy’s had a nightmare regatta and finished 7th and last (17th) today to lie in seventh place overall but too far back to challenge. Leigh Macmillan meanwhile hasn’t performed to his pre-Olympic form and succumbed to a 16th and 15th in today’s two races to be out of contention in 13th place.
The biggest surprise though is the Percy/Mitchell combination who promised so much and have failed to deliver when it mattered. For Britain’s 49er pair though, they will collect their medals beneath the Olympic flame at the Aghios Kosmas centre tonight and can reflect on a very tricky-condition regatta where they entered as red hot, world ranked one favourites and came away with a bronze.
Simon Hiscocks can add that to his silver he won with Ian Barker in Sydney and the smart money wouldn’t bet against a gold in Beijing to have one of every denomination – that’s motivation for you!