After reluctantly allowing the races off Roucas Blanc Marina, Marseille’s unpredictable weather granted Finn Lynch the opportunity to participate in his men’s solo dinghy medal race. Following a bumpy fleet series that didn’t align with his initial strategy, he had conceded to feeling disheartened, despite impressive positions in two out of eight races. Even in a regatta notorious for hefty scores, Finn aimed to remedy his two less satisfactory outcomes and bounced back during Sunday’s races, just in time for the Monday finals.
However, on the day of the competition, the winds in the Bay of Marseille abruptly withdrew.
Finn had successfully met the qualification standards for the medal race, and even though his ultimate rank could only reach the seventh or eighth position, he decided to strive for his highest personal record to end his second Olympic venture on a positive note.
Tuesday arrives, all set for the medals round, and once again — no wind. Wednesday was the reserve day, delayed due to the appearence of a storm moving towards the south. The men’s medal race eventually commenced with Lynch off to a solid start and quickly advancing to second place. Just as Jonathan Vadnai, the Hungarian leader, capsized, Lynch seized the lead midway through the short race.
Suddenly, a dramatic change in wind direction by 40 degrees called the fairness of the race into question, leading to its abrupt termination.
In the rerun of the race, though Lynch started strong, his efforts fell short as he failed to manoeuvre his way to the front and concluded in the eighth position, keeping his 10th place rank intact.
Reflecting on his performance, Lynch stated, “I wish I had performed better in Monday’s last two fleet races. Alas, I was just starting to get back into form and potentially could have narrowed the 20-point gap considerably. Being in the lead during a medal race until its unexpected cancellation due to a wind shift was exhilarating.”