As the men’s single-handed boat race event at the Paris Olympics heads into its mid-point at Marseilles, Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have positioned themselves second in the overall ranking among the 20 teams participating in the fleet series.
The pair from Dublin were leading the pack prior to the last race of the day, due to their impressive fourth and second-place standings in the preceding races. However, in the day’s third race, they finished eighth as the winds dropped off. New Zealand’s Isaac Kale McHardie and William McKenzie seized this opportunity to clinch their third win and move into first place in the overall event.
The Irish team maintains a nine-point lead over the next team, Diego Botin le Chever and Florian Trittel Paul from Spain, who have subsequently lodged a protest against Dickson and Waddilove. The verdict on this will be dealt with in the evening.
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In the event of a worst-case scenario – a disqualification from the eighth race – the Irish team would only lose one point, still retaining their second-place overall standing. However, this would entail using their single race discard, which so far has only brushed off a ninth place from their series.
Following two days of gentle winds in Marseilles, the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday anticipates better weather, much to the relief of those participating in the event.
While many teams predict a high-scoring regatta, a change in weather could split this fleet series into two distinct segments before the top 10 boats compete in the medal race final on Thursday to secure their spots on the podium.