British Sailing Team come close in Hyeres at French Olympic Week
by Will Carson 6 May 2019 07:09 BST
27 April - 4 May 2019
Emma Wilson on her way to a 4th place finish at Semaine Olympique Francaise © Eric Bellande
Britain's windsurfers and Laser sailors took the fight to the international circuit this week, with top five finishes in three of the four classes.
Emma Wilson led the way in the women's RS:X, coming home fourth after an epic 15-race battle against the world's best at French Olympic Week in Hyeres.
Fellow Brit Bryony Shaw had the better start to the regatta, opening her scorecard with a second in the first race before posting two more top ten results, but a tricky third day saw the Beijing 2008 bronze medallist slip down the leaderboard.
Wilson's regatta was one of consistency, only finishing outside the top ten once all week. But a fifth in the medal race wasn't enough to allow her to break into the podium positions, and she finished behind France's Charlene Picone, and China's Peina Chen and Yunxiu Lu.
"It was a big week in Hyeres," said Wilson, 20, from Christchurch, Dorset. "Fourteen races, one medal race, five knots to 30 knots of wind throughout the week and a super-high level fleet. Very happy to end the week in fourth."
A strong final day for Saskia Sills saw her come home 15th overall, her second best result since moving into senior competition.
In the men's RS:X, Tom Squires and Kieran Holmes-Martin both finished in the top ten; Squires was sixth, rounding his week off with a win in the medal race, while Holmes-Martin was tenth.
Matt Barton and Andy Brown came home 13th and 14th respectively, while Dan Wilson was 28th.
A bumper crop of Brits contested the Laser competition, with Elliot Hanson coming out on top with a fifth-place finish, three places above Michael Beckett in eighth.
Lorenzo Chiavarini was 12th, Nick Thompson 15th and Jack Wetherell 18th.
Ali Young and Hannah Snellgrove both withdrew from the Laser Radial competition to focus on the upcoming European Championships in Porto, Portugal, starting on May 20.
Full results can be found here.