Paris2024: Windsurfers book finals spots as McKiwis denied on 'brutal' Thursday

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie (NZL) - 49er - Marseille - Paris2024 Olympic Regatta - August 1, 2024 © World Sailing / Lloyd Images

The fickle Marseille wind twice denied the New Zealand men's skiff team a medal on Day 5 of the Olympic sailing event, while the country's windsurfers safely secured their spots in the final series.

Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie had their medal race abandoned on two occasions due to a dying breeze, the second time while they were in the gold-medal position.

The Kiwi duo finished third overall in qualifying but were on track for a podium spot before officials cancelled racing on Thursday.

"It's unfortunate because the races were going well for us, but we managed to reset well each time," McHardie said. "We sailed well in the second race and hopefully we can do the same again and things work out well tomorrow."

McKenzie said the searing heat in the south of France was harder to navigate than the constant restarts. "It was brutal," he said. "We only planned to be on the water for about an hour, but we ended up sitting out there for five hours. We'll just rest up, replenish our energy levels, and do it all again tomorrow."

Tom Saunders (NZL) - Mens Dinghy (ILCA-7) - Day 6 - Marseille - Paris2024 Olympic Regatta - August 1, 2024 - photo © World Sailing / Sander van der Borch

McHardie and McKenzie will be hoping it's third time lucky when the medal race gets underway at 1:10 pm local time (11:10 pm NZ time). The Kiwis are eight points behind Spanish leaders Diego Botin and Florian Trittel and only three points behind Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Ireland in second. The medal race's points are doubled, which means any of the top seven crews still have a mathematical chance of striking gold.

According to McHardie, the race plan is simple: "The position of the Spanish and Irish during the medal race is always in the back of your mind. We were going around the last top mark today and looking around to see where the other guys were. But the first goal will always be to just win the race."

Women's skiff (49erFX) sailors Jo Aleh and Molly Meech were stuck ashore for most of the day, having secured their place in the medal race by finishing seventh overall yesterday. However, with a deficit of 27 points to third-placed Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler of Sweden, the veteran duo is out of contention for a medal.

"It's a shame not to race and it's pretty painful seeing the guys start two races and get only halfway through," Meech said. "It was a tough day for them and us, and it'll be nice if we have some breeze tomorrow so we can go out and stretch our legs and finish on a high note."

Mens Skiff (49er) attempt a race - Marseille - Paris2024 Olympic Regatta - August 1, 2024 - photo © World Sailing / Sander van der Borch

In men's windsurfing, Josh Armit continued his impressive run. His scores of 2 and 3 to start the day moved him up to second overall and within touching distance of a guaranteed medal but the 22-year-old crossed the line in 11th in the final race, ending the day in third overall. That position is enough for him to advance straight to the four-board semifinal, where a top-two placing will secure a spot in the final - and on the podium.

"Conditions were tricky again but I'm happy to just keep chipping away," Armit said. "For me, it's just about giving it my best in every race and having fun, and so far it seems to be working out."

Compatriot Veerle ten Have had a nervous wait to find out if she would sail in the knockout round. Ten Have was pipped only by runaway fleet leader Emma Wilson of Great Britain in the first course race before she lost some ground with a 16th and 13th in the last two. Her overall ranking of ninth means she will sail in the quarterfinal of the women's event tomorrow, needing back-to-back top-two results to advance to the final.

"The last two races weren't that great for me, and with the fleet so tight I wasn't sure whether I had made it or not," ten Have said. "It was quite a stressful coach boat ride back to the beach!"

Her approach to the medal series won't change.

"We've done a lot of medal race practice over the last couple of months because it is such an important part of the regatta. It's really just the same approach - ensuring you have a good start, and from there just keeping everything simple."

Earlier Tom Saunders and Greta Pilkington got their Olympics underway in the men's dinghy (ILCA 7) and women's dinghy (ILCA 6) classes, respectively.

Saunders is 12th overall after two races, while Pilkington is 21st after one race.

Friday's schedule:

• From 12pm (10 pm NZT): Women's dinghy - Greta Pilkington (3 races)
• 12.10 pm (10.10 pm NZT): Women's skiff - Jo Aleh and Molly Meech (medal race)
• From 12.15 pm (10.15 pm NZT): Men's dinghy - Tom Saunders (2 races)
• 1.10 pm (11.10 pm NZT): Men's skiff - Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie (medal race)
• From 2 pm (midnight NZT): Women's windsurfing - Veerle ten Have (medal series)
• From 2.20 pm (12.20 am NZT): Men's windsurfing - Josh Armit (medal series)

Latest results and standings after Day 5 of the Olympic sailing competition in Marseille:

• Men's skiff fleet (20 boats)
• 1. Diego Botin/Florian Trittel (Esp) (16) 6 4 5 11 2 3 2 2 15 12 6 - 68 pts
• 2. Robert Dickson/Sean Waddilove (Irl) 9 4 1 4 2 (21DSQ) 4 13 9 11 14 2 - 73 pts
• 3. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (NZ) 1 3 8 8 1 1 11 (18) 17 1 10 15 - 76 pts
• Women's skiff fleet (20 boats)
• 1. Sarah Steyaert/Charline Picon (FRA) 2 2 2 8 2 2 12 11 10 (18) 6 10 - 67 pts
• 2. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz (NED) 5 1 1 10 8 5 (19) 3 2 15 4 14 - 68 pts
• 3. Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler (SWE) 14 6 15 4 15 10 2 1 5 1 1 (17) - 74 pts
• 7. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (NZ) 15 17 (20) 9 17 8 3 2 1 14 8 7 - 101 pts
• Men's windsurfing fleet (24 boards)
• 1. Grae Morris (Aus) (13) (25DNS) 10 9 1 7 2 1 9 2 4 7 8 - 60 pts
• 2. Tom Reuveny (Isr) 8 13 5 3 3 4 (25BFD) 3 5 13 (15) 4 2 - 63 pts
• 3. Josh Armit (NZ) 4 (18) 1 14 8 (25UFD) 11 2 6 4 2 3 11 - 66 pts
• Women's windsurfing fleet (24 boards)
• 1. Emma Wilson (GBR) 1 2 1 2 (17) 1 1 1 1 (3) 1 1 3 3 - 18 pts
• 2. Sharon Kantor (Isr) (25DSQ) 6 10 1 1 3 4 2 (15) 1 2 6 2 11 - 49 pts
• 3. Marta Maggetti (Ita) 5 3 4 (20) 11 4 3 8 4 4 4 (15) 11 9 - 70 pts
• 9. Veerle ten Have (NZ) (25DSQ) 15 16 8 (18) 5 12 11 3 5 3 2 16 13 - 109 pts
• Men's dinghy fleet (43 boats)
• 1. Stefano Peschiera (Per) 6 1 - 7 pts
• 2. Matt Wearn (Aus) 12 2 - 14 pts
• 3. Eduardo Marques (Por) 5 11 - 16 pts
• 12. Tom Saunders (NZ) 11 17 - 28 pts
• Women's dinghy fleet (43 boats)
• 1. Louise Cervera (Fra) 1 - 1 pt
• 2. Min Gu (Chn) 2 - 2 pts
• 3. Chiara Benini (Ita ) 3 - 3 pts
• 21. Greta Pilkington (NZ) 21 - 21 pts