Olympic Games 1996

EUROPE - RACE 10 RACE REPORT - 29 July 1996

At 14:15 the winds were 11 - 12 knots at 175 degrees. There was a prior postponement while the course was adjusted as the boat end of the line was favoured.

The second race of the day for the Europe class was started at 14:46. Being Race 10 in a series of 11, races this was the chance for Denmark's Kristine Roug to seal the gold medal without having to sail the final race. With opportunities running out, Margriet Matthijsse (NED) needed to finish well with Roug down the fleet to giver her a chance at the top level of the podium. American Courtenay Becker-Dey and Shirley Robertson (GBR) who proved to be so fast in the preceding Race 9, also needed good finishes, this was pressure sailing at its best.

Following a clear start in a building breeze the sailors flew up the first beat with Linda Konttorp (NOR), 3rd in Race 9, who held a comfortable lead at the first windward mark. As Konttorp set out along the first reach it was Sibylle Powarzynski (GER) who narrowly led Robertson and New Zealand's Sharon Ferris. With Roug rounding in 6th, Becker-Dey in 11th and Matthijsse appearing to be struggling in the day's conditions in 15th place.

At mark three, following the first reach and downwind run, the major change was Becker-Dey (USA) who had rocketed through the fleet to be round in 6th one place ahead of Roug (DEN), while Matthijsse (NED) dropped one more place to 16th.

For the next windward mark beat Matthijsse took her chances and split away from the rest of the fleet, which included the tight battle between the American and the Dane. This move paid large dividends for the Dutch sailor, who moved up to 4th at the next mark.

At mark three for the second time, it was Konttorp (NOR) who was dominating the race, leading by 45 seconds ahead of Powarzynski (GER), with Becker-Dey moving up to second.

With only the reach to the finish remaining it was clear that Konttorp had Race 10 won, however it was a reasonably close battle between Becker-Dey, who took second and Nicole Meylan (SUI) third, while Matthijsse (NED) finished 5th, keeping her overall chances of victory alive by one point as Roug could only manage 7th.

Going into the final race Roug (DEN) leads with 19 points, from placings of 2-1-3-2-1-2-8-1-8-7, while Matthijsse (NED) who is the only person who could steal victory from ROUG, on 26 points overall from finishes of PMS-2-1-10-2-1-1-4-12-5. American Becker-Dey lies in the bronze medal position with one race to go on 33 points from 1-8-2-4-7-6-3-14-9-2 placings. Shirley Robertson (GBR) is the only other competitor who has a chance at a medal, being only five points behind Becker-Dey on 38 points from finishes of 3-7-18-1-6-3-22-2-4-12.