Klepacka and Lehtinen Take Gold On An Exciting Day
Klepacka claimed the Women’s RS:X gold medal in wonderful fashion after winning the Medal Race by over a minute. The Polish sailor has strung together a fantastic race card throughout the week finishing out of the top three just once in 11 races.
Marina Alabau (ESP) boasts five race wins but she did not show the level of consistency that Klepacka showed. But she walks away with the silver medal and bronze went to Great Britain’s Bryony Shaw.
It went down to the wire in the Women’s Match Racing final between Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva, and Lucinda Whitty (FIN) and Ekaterina Skudina, Elena Siuzeva and Elena Oblova (RUS).
The match swung to-and-fro; Skudina took the race win in the first race but Lehtinen hit back and went ahead 2-1. Lehtinen had the lead in the fourth race but after a poor mark rounding and with problems displaying her spinnaker Skudina pulled ahead to level the tie.
In the deciding race the lead changed hands throughout with neither side taking the bull by the horns and seizing the initiative. The Finnish girls ran into problems after a poor gybe as Lehtinen, at the helm, almost fell into the water but was saved. And at the finish a Russian penalty enabled Lehtinen to cross the finish line first to take the gold medal.
“What did not happen in the last race?” said Lehtinen. “It was a really exciting match and at the leeward mark we rounded the mark side by side with one lap and it was a good fight.”
View an interview with the Finnish Match Race girls here.
And crew Kanerva added, “We gave our souls and everything that was left in our muscles.”
The Laser, Laser Radial and Men’s and Women’s 470 will take place tomorrow with the first race scheduled to start at 12:00 local time.
