The cheers erupted every three quarters of an hour on Tuesday in Rio's Olympic Marina da Gloria. The medal races in the Laser Radial, Laser, Finn Dinghy and Nacra 17 disciplines, which had been postponed on Monday and were scheduled for Tuesday anyway, took place at the same time. At the same time, Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel fought for their Olympic dream out in Guanabara Bay. They did so successfully, even if the individual results of 10, 4 and 18 were not entirely satisfactory for the crew, who compete for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. All in all, Heil/Plößel stubbornly defended their podium place and will now go into the medal final on Thursday in second place.
The New Zealand high-flyers Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have already secured gold ahead of time. But for the German crew, it's all about silver or bronze and thus the first Olympic medal for German sailing since 2008. Eight years ago, it was also two 49er sailors, Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt, who brought Olympic glory. Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel could continue this skiff tradition. "The boys have what it takes to win silver," said coach Thomas Rein, who is counting on his protégés' ability to concentrate and their strong nerves.
The hopefuls themselves did not allow themselves more than an idea, which Erik Heil put into words: "It wouldn't be bad if we could beat the 2012 Olympic champions." Heil is aiming for silver, but at the same time knows that it will be difficult, as third-placed Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are only three points behind the Germans ahead of the double medal race. Apart from the top trio, only Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Alain Sign still have a chance of winning a medal. They would have to make up ten points on the Australians or 13 points on the Berliners if they want to finish on the podium. Which in turn puts the Australians under pressure: "They also have to look to the rear," says Thomas Plößel.
Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel will use the rest day on Wednesday differently according to their preferences. While Plößel plans to relax, visit the physiotherapist or go to the pool, Erik Heil wants to pay a visit to the 49er in the harbour and perhaps also watch the medal races on the Sugarloaf course from Flamengo beach. Erik Heil summarises the task facing the German team on Thursday: "We have to be lively and make great decisions. Everything will happen very quickly. You need the right attitude on the right day." That day will be 18 August. The starting signal for the medal race for the ten best 49er crews will be given at 1 p.m. local time, which is 6 p.m. German time.
Away from the exciting races on the courses further out, medals were constantly being contested under the Sugar Loaf Mountain on the medal course in front of Flamengo Beach. In the opening final, Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands secured the gold medal she so narrowly missed out on four years ago ahead of Annalise Murphy from Ireland, who is more than a head taller than her and who led the field for a long time in Weymouth four years ago before dropping back to fourth place in the final. Denmark's Anne-Marie Rindom secured bronze. The "Flying Dutchwoman" Marit Bouwmeester told YACHT online: "I am just incredibly proud to have won this gold medal in sailing for our country. We are a great sporting nation and it is a great feeling to be part of this passion."
Following the early elimination of world number one Philipp Buhl, Tom Burton came out on top in the Laser in a spectacular medal race against Croatia's Tonci Stipanovic and New Zealand's Sam Meech. Stipanovic had started the final in the lead, but Burton forced him into the expected thrilling duel before the start. Stipanovic reported in the winners' press conference that in this duel the wave of a jury boat had led to contact, as a result of which the referees on the same jury boat had imposed a penalty on him. Burton and Stipanovic crossed the start line long after the shot. For a long time, it looked as if Stipanovic would still be able to win this way. But the Australian sailed the race of his life and, after a furious chase to catch up, turned ninth place at the start of the thriller into third place, stealing the Olympic victory that the Croatian had almost thought was certain.
In the Finn Dinghy, the big favourite Giles Scott had already secured gold before the medal final. The Slovenian Vasilij Zbogar and the American Caleb Paine came out on top in the battle for silver and bronze. One of the biggest surprises of these Olympic Games was achieved in the Nacra 17 by 54-year-old Santi Lange with foresailor Cecilia Carranza Saroli. The Argentinians sensationally secured gold ahead of the Australians Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin. Austria's Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank had the best time celebrating bronze, coming third in the medal race and beating New Zealand's Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders into fourth place.
The German 470 sailors Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski had initially qualified for the medal final in tenth place on this day, on which neither cheers nor tears wanted to end, with class performances and places 6, 4 and 6. Thanks to their race win in race six, they were tied on points with New Zealanders Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Wilcox in the battle for a place in the final. But then there were several protests, as a result of which the Germans slipped back to a thankless eleventh place. Annika Bochmann and Marlene Steinherr clearly missed out on a place in the final, finishing 18th overall.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
