An Olympic sailing event has been abandoned because of light winds – the latest of a number of races called to a halt due to unfavourable conditions.
It comes after the men’s skiff medal race was also abandoned last week dramatically, with Team GB‘s James Peters and Fynn Sterritt both in action before the event off the Marseille Coast was halted.
This time round, though, it’s Micky Beckett for Great Britain in the men’s dinghy race, who had worked his sailing socks off to get up into the silver medal position approaching the third mark.
But despite his stellar efforts to get up onto the podium, Beckett will now have to do it all again with the abandonment of the race.
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The race did get back underway just under an hour later once the weather did pick up again, and was sat in sixth spot after the first mark, putting him fourth in the overall table.
An Olympic medal event has been abandoned due to unfavourable weather conditions
Micky Beckett had fought his way into silver medal position before the winds dropped in Marseille
Beckett’s race was temporarily abandoned before starting back up around an hour later
In order to progress back into the medals, Beckett must finish clear of Peru’s Stefano Pechiera to overtake him in the standings into bronze in the double-points race.
Wind has been a constant issue this Olympics down in Marseille, and had threatened to strike again before the race even started this afternoon before finally picking up.
But start it did, and after being falling behind the leaders Beckett had fought his way into contention and made it into second position before the winds dropped.
Penalties for his rivals Pavlos Kontides (Cyprus) and Peschiera from the starting line though saw him rise through the ranks.
The race had already been rescheduled for Wednesday after earlier disruption to the event on Tuesday – again due to the weather.
With the sailing events naturally relying on winds in order to proceed, they do of course leave themselves up to the prospect of abandonment, though as veteran sailors the competitors will of course be no stranger to such eventualities.
Australia’s Matt Wearn carried the lead going into the race, the reigning Olympic champion sitting 14 points ahead of Kontides.
The Cypriot is the only sailor to feasibly be able to catch the Australian, although that could play into Wearn’s hands.
It comes after the men’s skiff medal race was temporarily abandoned last Thursday as well
‘I’m in a bit of tricky spot right now. Matt can only lose the gold medal to me, so he can match race me and take both of us to the back of the fleet and for me this opens the door for the third and the fourth,’ 2012 silver medalist Kontides told Reuters.
‘I have to manage to escape and try to do my best to not open the door for people in third and fourth and if I have a chance to attack for the gold I will do it,’ said 2012 silver medal winner Kontides, who is at his fifth Games.
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