Olympics - Sailing

Bildstein/Hussl in fifth place after three races!

Benjamin Bildstein/David Hussl(Bild: APA/OEOC/MICHAEL MEINDL)

Sailors Benjamin Bildstein/David Hussl have made a good start to the Olympic regatta off Marseille. The 49er duo finished third, fifth and ninth (strike result) in the three races on Sunday in light winds and are in fifth place overall after day 1, tied on points with fourth place. Lorena Abicht did not get to race, all four planned races in the iQFoil class were postponed.

A total of twelve races are scheduled before the top ten compete for medals in the Medal Race. The lead is held by New Zealanders Isaac Mchardie/William Mckenzie (4 points) ahead of Robert Dickson/Sean Waddilove (IRL/5), Hernan Umpierre/Fernando Diz (URU/7) and Bart Lambriex/Floris Van De Werken (NED/8). There was some confusion with the results on the first day, Austria had originally been ranked outside the top ten in the third race.

"It all worked out great!"
However, the mood in the Austrian camp was upbeat after the opening race, as they had chosen the right strategy in the first two races. "Everything went really well. The course was then changed before the last race and we were confronted with different conditions. It took us a little too long at the beginning to find our rhythm again," said helmsman Bildstein.

"Definitely a good first day!"
"Definitely a good first day," said cox Hussl. "We were able to implement a lot of the points we set out to achieve and that's why we're very happy with the start. We won't be changing much of our approach for tomorrow." They want to go into the second day with the same goals and the same focus.