The extent of the encounter between the Finn Gold Fleet and the front moving across the Bay of Aarhus on the way to the finish of the tenth race only became clear to observers ashore when the first pictures of Finn press officer Robert Deaves emerged. A short clip was also taken during his assignment. The jury of the World Championship of all Olympic disciplines was still dealing with the flood of protests from many Finn sailors late into the evening.
Most of the protests were directed at the race committee and centred on a violent 40-degree wind shift that caught the fleet on the way to the finish due to the front sweeping across the bay. After an initially very calm day, the "giants" among the Olympic sailors, the heavyweights, were hit by up to 35 knots of wind out of nowhere for around ten minutes, causing a number of sailors in the leading group to capsize. European champion Jonathan Lobert from France lost his mast.
However, 23-year-old Phillip Kasüske came through brilliantly and crossed the finish line in third place - a tremendous performance by the Berliner, who finished the World Championship in 15th place. The fact that the helmsman from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club was placed much higher in the meantime emphasises his potential. In the end, it wasn't enough to secure his national ticket for the Finn class for the 2020 Olympic Games early on, but the realisation remains that this national qualification is achievable at the next opportunity.
The - possibly corrected - results list and the jury's decisions will show whether the Finn sailors' protests late in the evening are still successful. Click here for the interim results.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
