Just like he set record as the first African to make the top 30 in the world, Rio Olympic Games quarterfinalist, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has inscribed his name in the annals of history in the continent after leaping to 25th in the September ranking released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday September […]
via Aruna Quadri Sets African Record, Now Ranked 25th In The World — newfanzoneblog
…Team back in training for Denmark …NFF explains delay in salary payment The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung and NFF President Amaju Pinnick have moved quickly to douse feelings of discontent in the Nigeria U23 team camp, ahead of Saturday’s Men’s Olympic Football Tournament quarter –final clash with Denmark. Pinnick told thenff.com […]
via Rio Olympics: Sports Minister, NFF wade into U23 issue — newfanzoneblog
The 33-year athlete beat the two Chinese teammates Zhang Binbin and Du Li, and announced she will retire after today’s victory. Yesterday’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women final turned into a stage of success for Germany’s 33-year old Barbara Englader, who claimed Gold at the end of a thrilling final with a 0.2-point margin on […]
via Germany’s Englader wins Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position Final and Retires — newfanzoneblog
…,Wants national honours for Toriola At 85, Musliu Anibaba still follows sports with a lot of passion and his interest in sports started at Methodist Boys High School (MBHS) in Lagos when he was part of the ‘technical team’ that inspired MBHS to clinch the maiden edition of the Lagos Principal’s Cup in 1948. The […]
via Government Is Not Fair To Sports – Ex-NTTF Official, Anibaba — newfanzoneblog
Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella acts as the Olympic continental qualification regatta for sailors from North and South America. Qualify here, you’ll be representing your country on the grandest of stages, miss out, it’s the end of the road.
Torrential rainfall and a chill in the air, Miami isn’t usually like this, but competition for World Cup honours and Rio 2016 Olympic spots are keeping the temperatures on Biscayne Bay hot.
Competitiveness from the front to the back of each fleet has been evident and every sailor has something to fight for. Whether it’s the coveted Rio spot, a Sailing World Cup honour, internal qualification for Rio 2016 or even striving to perfect their game, it’s all on in Miami.
Sailors were made to wait for racing on Thursday as torrential downpours killed off the breeze and produced large quantities of surface water. When the breeze materialised it enabled the sailors to commence racing at 15:20 local time in building conditions that ranged from 12-17 knots from the south east.
Nacra 17
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) regained the Nacra 17 lead after they finished ahead of overnight leaders Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) in both of the day’s races.
They have a seven point gap over the Dutch but a scintillating battle is developing towards the back of the pack.
Just one point separates South American Rio 2016 hopefuls from Guatemala and Uruguay with one day of fleet racing remaining.
Guatemala’s Jason Hess and Irene Abascal were in the driving seat for the Olympic spot but two poor results enabled Uruguay’s Pablo Defazio Abella and Mariana Foglia to hit them on the counter attack.
The Uruguayans finished 23rd and 31st, leaving them on 272 points, one behind the Guatemalans who had their worst day on the water after a 37th and a discarded DNF.
In terms of races won against each other, Hess and Abascal lead the stakes 6-5 after 11 and it will be head to head on the water on Friday to decide who takes the single South American Nacra 17 place.
Canada’s Luke Ramsay and Nikola Girke have a strong advantage in the North American qualification duel. They are more than 60 points clear of the only other hopeful, Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa and Franchesca Valdes. Ramsay and Girke will want to stay out of trouble on Friday to book their nation another Rio 2016 place.
Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) were Thursday’s Nacra 17 stars after double bullets. They are fourth overall.
49er and 49erFX
A single race in the 49er Gold, 49er Silver and 49erFX was completed.
Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) and New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech held on to top spot in the 49er and 49erFX respectively. Race wins went the way of John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR) in 49er Gold, Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern (IRL) in 49er Silver and Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Olsen (DEN) in the 49erFX.
On the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification front, there is plenty happening in all three fleets.
Chilean brothers Benjamin and Cristóbal Grez Ahrens haven’t made things easy on themselves in their battle against Uruguay’s Santiago Silveira and Philipp Umpierre for the South American 49er Rio spot. A disastrous start and up and down results gave the Uruguayans the advantage after two days.
The Uruguayans were positioned to make the gold fleet with the Chileans back in silver ahead of Wednesday’s so they had it all to do. Match racing was the name of the game and the Chileans forced the Uruguayans hand with an OCS and BFD to squeeze them back into silver fleet.
Thursday was an opportunity for both teams to reset and from a single 49er Silver race, the Grez Ahrens brothers grabbed the initiative, leapfrogging the Uruguayans. A Chilean ninth compared to the Uruguayans 18th ensures they go into the final day of fleet racing with a six point advantage.
In the north, gold fleet racing will decide the spot. USA in the driving seat with Thomas Barrows, III and Joseph Morris seventh on 71 points. Canada follow with David Mori and Justin Barnes 29th on 104 points and British Virgin Islanders Alec Anderson and Christopher Brockbank are down in 31st.
American sailors Paris Henken and Helena Scutt as well as Emily Dellenbaugh and Elizabeth Barry have put their nation in a strong position to qualify in the 49erFX. Henken and Scutt are 18th on 142 points and their compatriots, 21st on 161. Their nearest rivals are U.S. Virgin Islanders Mayumi Roller and Agustina Barbuto who trail on 181 in 23rd. Aruba’s Odile and Philipine Van Aanholt hold 226 points in 32nd.
Chile’s Arantza Gumucio and Begoña Gumucio are the only South American entrants who have not yet qualified for Rio 2016 so will qualify this week.
Laser and Laser Radial
A very fluid weather pattern (in more ways than one) made for a challenging, albeit short, day on the water for the Laser and Laser Radial fleets. The threat of thunderstorms kept the fleet ashore through the early afternoon. Once the sailors launched, the compressed time left the sailors with little time to properly research the breeze. Adding to the confusion, the weather changed just as the Radials were halfway up the first leg.
“In the beginning it was quite light,” said Evi van Acker (BEL). “But then the rain came and along came the wind. So it was quite windy in the race, which was nice to have a little bit of difference compared to the first three days.”
It was also quite shifty and, with the visibility reduced, tough for the sailors to formulate a plan of attack. As is often the case in difficult conditions, the cream rose to the top, with Marit Bouwmeester (NED) nipping Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN) by just two seconds and adding to her impressive string of four first-place finishes in the qualifying races. But Bouwmeester was hard-pressed to describe how she won the race.
“I don’t really know,” she said with a laugh. “The weather was quite tricky with the rain so I think I was just a bit lucky being on the right side of the wind shifts.”
Bouwmeester, who won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Laser Radial World Championships, is probably being modest. But her day did have one significant, and totally unexpected, hurdle that she handled with a veteran’s poise.
“A 470 trailer, they didn’t put it up right after the 470 went into the water and it fell down and it fell straight through my sail,” she said. “So just before [launching] I had a hole in the sail. But thank God it didn’t influence the racing too much
“I didn’t like it. I was like, ‘Bloody 470s.’ But there’s not much I can do about it. This guy gave me some sail tape and I tried to cover it up as good as I can.”
In third in the race, and sitting solidly in second overall was van Acker, who was a little more expansive when asked about the path to success in Race 6.
“I think play the shifts on the first beat and the first reach and the downwind,” she said. “But I could’ve done a bit better. So not super happy with today, but plenty to play for tomorrow.”
Van Acker is the defending Olympic bronze medalist, but there’s a lot of Laser Radial talent in Belgium and she won’t know until late spring whether she’ll return to the Olympics.
“We have a selection committee that will decide at the end of May or the beginning of June,” she said. “But as I said, I’m not really busy with the selection, just trying to do my best in every race.”
Currently sitting third in the overall standings is defending Olympic gold medalist Lilja Xu (CHN) who finished 35th, by far her worst race of the regatta. After discarding that finish she is just two points out of second and eight points off the lead.
Paloma Schmidt was the only South American sailor, who had not yet qualified for Rio 2016, to make the Laser Radial gold fleet. As a result, she has qualified Peru in the Laser Radial.
North American sailors from the Cayman Islands, Cuba, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago missed out on the gold fleet as Bermuda’s Cecillia Wollman and Mexico’s Natalia Montemayor advanced.
Nine points separated them before Thursday’s racing but they ended up even on 95 points apiece after the single race. Wollman finished 39th and Montemayor, 40th. Results would lead to suggest some strong tactics coming in to play with three races on Friday to determine who will go to Rio de Janeiro this August.
After sailing a nearly flawless qualifying series, Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) had his first significant bobble of the regatta when he was caught over the line before the gun and didn’t return to start correctly, recording a 50-point OCS. As he’s able to discard that score, he retains the overall lead, but the margin has narrowed. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) is currently second overall after getting a fourth today.
While the Radials started in light breeze, the wind had picked up substantially by the time the Lasers started sailing. Still, the weather was difficult to read.
“I didn’t have [a really solid plan for the first beat],” said Bernaz. “I just say, ‘OK, let’s sail and watch; what you see is what you get.’ I was on the right, but when I saw the left gaining, I just go on the left side of the fleet. I was losing a lot and I re-gained what I lost. I was fourth at the top mark, third, then fourth again. It’s good to sail in front.”
Bernaz has been on a tear of late, with top-five finishes in his four of his last five major regattas. The lone blip, a 54th at the 2015 Laser World Championships, has knocked his world ranking down to 22nd, but he’s sailing like a medal contender at this event.
“It’s the year of the Games, some [Olympic selection series] for different countries, so everyone is 100 percent, maybe 110,” he said. “It’s a really hard fleet and it’s really hard to be consistent. Now we start the finals, so it’s the top 49, so it’s really hard, really compact.”
Sailing to his fourth second in the last four races, five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) moved into third in the overall standings.
“The first few races I had bad starts and it was difficult conditions, it was shifty and light, and I just made bad decisions at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I knew I had the speed to do better and the ability to do better. From the third day I started to sail more with the fleet, more consistent, better starts.
“Today was a full-on race, it started to blow very hard just a few minutes before the start and we knew we’d have to be out of trouble, have a clean start, and use the speed and hike hard. It was a tough race. The breeze kept increasing throughout the race. I just sailed clean, sailed a solid race. I’m really happy about that.”
Scheidt won three medals in the Laser class, gold in 1996 and 2004 and silver in 2000 before switching to the Star, where he won silver in 2008 and bronze in 2012. With the Star eliminated from the Olympic roster, he was forced to choose between missing the Rio Olympics or returning to the grueling 14-foot dinghy,
“The goal is to try to do the Olympic Games in my home country,” he said. “Unfortunately the Star is not anymore an Olympic class. I wish it was. It’s not easy to come back to the Laser after a certain age. But I’m enjoying it. I’m still having fun out there. I’m still competing at a high level. Of course, it’s not easy because physically it’s a quite a demanding boat. Right now I’m in a good moment, free of injuries and really looking forward to the next six months.”
He hasn’t been as dominant as he was at his peak, when he won eight world championships, but Scheidt is a serious medal threat, and anyone who thinks the pressure of competing in his home country will compromise his performance should check Scheidt’s track record. Among other accomplishments, his final Laser world championship was won on Brazilian waters. He knows what to expect, and how to handle it.
“It’s going to be a different Olympics with the crowd the expectations, competing in Rio, a place I’ve sailed all my life, for an Olympic medal,” he said. “It’s going to be very special. That’s why I’m still doing it. That’s the reason why I’m still training hard, pushing hard. To be able to join the Olympics one last time would be a great thing for me.”
Mexico’s Yanic Gentry made the gold fleet in the cut and with none of his rivals from Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico making it, he has qualified his nation in the Laser.
All of the South American sailors aiming for Rio 2016 are in the silver fleet and no racing was possible on Thursday. As it stands, Venezuela’s Jose Gutierrez is 65th on 139 points, Uruguay’s Federico Yandian 66th on 140, Ecuador’s Matias Dyck on 145 and Colombia’s Andrey Quintero 84th on 180.
Men’s and Women’s 470
With a win in today’s lone race, Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) moved into a tie for first place with the Brazilian team of Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan. Those two teams are starting to stretch away from the rest of the fleet. As this fleet is one of the smallest in the regatta, it will be hard, but not impossible, for anyone else to claw back into contention for the win. The other teams in the top five are Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN), Marina Gallego and Fatima Reyes (ESP) and Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (USA).
Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) were the only team in the top six of the Men’s 470 fleet to record a top-five finish today. As a result the Spanish duo pushed their lead over Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA) out to five points. Panaglotis Mantis and Pavlos Kangialis (GRE) are third, nine points further back. A point behind third is Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstäder (AUT). While there are three races scheduled for tomorrow, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside that top four making a serious challenge for the lead.
It’s one on one in both North and South America for Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. Canada’s Jacob Chaplin-Saunders and Graeme Chaplin-Saunders, on 53 points, have a good advantage over Mexico’s Jeronimo Cervantes Belausteguigoitia and Ander Belausteguigoitia, on 90 points, in the North.
Looking south, the 21st placed Ecuadorians, Jonathan Martinetti and John Birkett, have work to do on the final day of fleet racing to catch the 17th placed Chileans, Andres Ducasse and Francisco Ducasse. The Chileans have a 16 point advantage.
Canada’s Allison Surrette and Alexandra Ten Hove are uncontested for the North American spot so will seal that place this week. Chile’s Nadja Horwitz and Sofia Middleton are poised to take the South American spot, holding a 36 point advantage over Argentina’s Mercedes Travascio and Delfinia Bellagio.
Finn
It was the grey beards who dominated today’s lone race in oldest of the Olympic classes. Olympic silver medalists Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) and Zach Railey (USA) went 1-2 in the race and now hold those same positions in the overall standings. But in reality, the top six, who are separated by just three points, are standing on a level playing field with three races scheduled for tomorrow and then the double-points medal race on Saturday. The other sailors in that top group are Jorge Zarif (BRA), Jake Lilley (AUS), Lei Gong (CHN) and yesterday’s leader Caleb Paine (USA).
The 11th placed Chilean, Antonio Poncell, is sandwiched in between his South American rivals from Argentina, Facundo Olezza in ninth and Juan Ignacio Biava in 11th.
Poncell holds 47 points which is 12 off Olezza and two ahead of Ignacio Biava. Canadian Finn sailors have no North American rivals in the Finn fleet with Finn fleet racing to conclude on Friday.
Paralympic Classes
Helena Lucas (GBR) has positioned herself nicely at the top of the 2.4mR leader board ahead of the final day of Paralympic racing on Friday.
A third consecutive race win leaves her three points clear of early leader Bruce Millar (CAN) however the London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist will have to tread carefully on the final day as she discards a 12th from the first race of the series.
Peter Eagar (CAN) occupies the final podium spot with a day remaining but is just a single point clear of Charles Rosenfield (USA).
Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes (CAN) opened up a six point advantage over 2015 Para World Sailing Champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) after winning the single Sonar race.
Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) are third overall heading into Friday’s final Paralympic races.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
The Race Committee had to manually input the results from the RS:X race course into the results system after racing. Results will be available in due course.
After missing out on their places at the Rio 2016 Olympic during the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Nigeria’s Segun Toriola and Edem Offiong will get another shot at making it to Brazil at the 2016 Olympics Qualifying Tournament in Khartoum, Sudan on February 16 to 18. The tournament holds after the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup.
Toriola who inspired Nigeria to overcome Egypt to claim the men’s team title in Brazzaville failed to make it to the last four when he was defeated by Chinese-born Congo Brazzaville star, Jianan Wang in the quarterfinal while Offiong who played the game of her life against Egypt’s Dina Meshref narrowly lost to the Egyptian at the same stage of the African Games in Brazzaville.
However Toriola’s dream of making history in Africa as the first athlete from the continent to feature in seven Olympics may be realized in Sudan.
According to the President, African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy, Egypt will not be sending entries as they already have two qualified men and two women players. These players have also been confirmed by the Egyptian Olympic Committee for the games. But Nigeria and Congo Brazzaville can present one male and one female each after already getting one male and one female qualified at the African Games in Brazzaville.
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and Olufunke Oshonaike as well as Congo Brazzaville’s Jianan Wang and Han Xing joined Egypt’s Assar brothers – Omar and Khalid and Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawlatly at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The ATTF boss disclosed that Africa is expected to present six male and six female for the Olympics while the highest ranked team in Africa by the May Olympic ranking for teams will represent the continent in the team event of the Olympics.
After a resoundingly successful 2015 for boxing, in which the 2015 AIBA World Championships in Doha were as ambitious as they were spectacular, another epic season of World Series of Boxing action unfolded and the first AIBA Pro Boxing champions were crowned, AIBA is preparing to unveil innovations and initiatives to help grow the sport even further in 2016.
Tuesday 12th January 2016: AIBA celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2016 and will reach the symbolic milestone of 200 National Federation members, underlining boxing’s position among the world’s farthest-reaching, most popular sports and a central pillar of the Olympic Games themselves in this Olympic year.
Rio 2016 – the calendar’s grandstand event
Rio 2016 will serve to further enhance both the men’s and women’s boxing prestige, and with 60 boxers out of 286 already qualified, the remaining quota places available at continental championships and International tournaments taking place throughout the first half of the year mean they assume an added importance.
“Olympic qualification opportunities are sure to bring out the very best in our boxers in the first half of this year”, said AIBA President CK Wu. “This is the world’s biggest sporting stage and the competition for places at Rio 2016 will make for an unmissable series of major tournaments, as well as the Women’s World Championships.”
Astana 2016 – To showcase the best women boxers
In 2016 we will also be looking forward to the ninth edition of AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, which will light up Astana, Kazakhstan on 19-27 May and will provide an opportunity to twelve medalists from the three Olympic weight classes – flyweight, lightweight and middleweight –to book their flights to Brazil for August’s grandstand competition. Thus, Rio will further enhance the reputation and standing of women in our sport as the Olympic Games represent a fantastic stage to foster gender equality in the world of sport.
Putting boxer’s first with HeadsUp!
AIBA’s ongoing commitment to putting its boxers first was cemented in 2015 with the launch of a new HeadsUp! campaign to nurture and extend athletes’ careers all the way from grassroots to life outside the ring. The official launch of the far-reaching HeadsUp! campaign in Doha, anchored in the re-education of boxers, coaches and officials to teach the correct way of boxing and make the athletes adopt a better stance, was followed by an important new scholarship program for young boxers in one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest neighbourhoods. It is a policy that National Federations will be encouraged to follow as AIBA highlights the importance of investing in the sport at every level, with further initiatives to be rolled out throughout 2016.
“We always want to move forward, evolve and look to broaden the appeal of our great sport”, said the AIBA president, “but we will never lose sight of our guiding principles, at the centre of which is the health and wellbeing of our boxers.”
WSB Season VI
AIBA’s unique World Series of Boxing team competition will begin its sixth season on 15 January 2016. Defending champions Astana Arlans Kazakhstan start their campaign against Azerbaijan Baku Fires, and the arrival of two new franchises, Uzbekistan Tigers and Turkey Conquerors, has expanded the preliminary-stage format from two to four groups. Following a busy Draft Pick in December that saw several teams snap up squad members from the considerable pool of extra international talent available, Season VI once again has the potential to provide real fireworks for boxing fans the world over.
New Horizons for AIBA Pro Boxing (APB)
When APB boxers David Graf and Anton Pinchuk went toe-to-toe in Dusseldorf on the undercard of one of the biggest boxing event of last year, Klitschko vs. Fury, it heralded the arrival of AIBA’s Pro Boxing competition onto the world circuit as featured in the Saturday night of boxing in Kyiv on December 12 where two key AIBA Pro Boxing contests starring local talent, the experienced Middleweight Dmytro Mytrofanov facing Ecuador’s Marlo Delgado and Light Welterweight Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn against Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam in the sold out Palace of Sports.
Last year APB’s first cycle crowned 10 World Champions from 7 different countries illustrating the remarkable success of the newborn competition and the pro-style boxing opportunities offered to AIBA Elite boxers.
“For seventy years, AIBA has striven to provide the best possible platform for its boxers to thrive upon”, said President Wu. “More recently, we have nurtured a culture of excellence and professionalism that can be felt at every level of the sport, and one that will be showcased perfectly for the world’s boxing fans in this Olympic year.”
Thirty-five Rio 2016 Olympic Quota Places will be distributed at the Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun competition, which will be held between the 25th January and the 3rd of February 2016 in New Delhi (IND).
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved the ISSF recommendation to organize the “Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition for Shooting” in New Delhi, India from 25 January (arrival) until 3 February (departure).
After the IOC decided, on 29 October, to revoke the Olympic qualifying status of the Asian Shooting Championship, the ISSF took immediate steps to ensure that the 35 Shooting quotas would be awarded to Asian athletes in a high-level alternate competition. The ISSF invited all member federations in Asia to submit proposals to host this competition. Five federations expressed interest in organizing this competition and three of them submitted excellent, complete proposals. After evaluating these proposals, the ISSF Executive Committee selected the proposal from the National Rifle Association of India because it was the only proposal to organize all Olympic events in one competition at one place in New Delhi.
Participating federations will be responsible for international travel to New Delhi, but there will be no entry fees and no costs at the host city for local transportation, hotels and meals. Each federation can enter a maximum of 3 athletes in the competition and 2 MQS athletes only plus one rifle/pistol team official and one shotgun team official. Additional officials will be at the cost of the participating federation. Three to five star hotels have been selected. Details for the competition schedule and Official Program (General Information) are being worked out with the National Rifle Association of India and will be posted on the ISSF website in the beginning of December.
Another day of light breeze and testing current made for minimal separations across the nine fleets competing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao.
After a short wait for wind the 320 competitors from 32 nations took to the water mid-afternoon for some tight racing where any mistake was duly punished.
With the competition reaching the midway point the leader boards are shaping up nicely ahead of Sunday’s Medal Races where Abu Dhabi World Cup final spots will be awarded, prize money distributed, world cup medals presented and Rio 2016 Olympic Games spots snapped up.
Laser and Laser Radial
Very little separated the Laser and Laser Radial fleets with packed mark roundings and bunched finishes a common occurrence across the two races in each fleet.
Winning races in any sport is a wonderful feeling. Knowing you’ve controlled a pack of racers behind you generates positivity but in sailing, it’s a different game. Across a series of races consistency ultimately pays and France’s Jean Baptiste Bernaz has proved this point with a pair of fourths to promote him to second overall, just three points off Lorenzo Chiavarini (GBR).
“It was light and shifty, all day,” Baptiste Bernaz quickly summarised ashore after racing, “it was just like yesterday more or less. I had a four and four which is a good day, I think.”
And a good day it was indeed as the Frenchman advanced up the leader board but he knows exactly where he wants to be come Sunday evening, “I came here to win,” he exclaimed. “I still have two days to do it in this fleet. It’s a good level with sailors from Croatia, Cyprus, Australia, Virgin Islands and Canada. There are many good sailors who know how to play these winds and I’m pretty happy to be second at the moment.”
Overnight leader Chiavarini was consistent on the day, but not the way he would have wanted it. A pair of 13th place finishes was enough for him to maintain his advantage but only just.
Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) was unable to fully start the regatta the way he wanted it with a 27th and a black flag coming from the first three races but things have picked up for the defending champion. He managed to secure an 11th and second to move into third spot.
The day’s race wins in the Laser went the way of Ryan Palk (AUS), who is 18th overall and the seventh placed Pavlos Kontides (CYP).
It’s tight at the top in the Laser Radial with two points splitting Manami Doi (JPN), Dongshuang Zhang (CHN) and Isabella Bertold (CAN).
Out on the race track both races were exceedingly close. The 28-boat fleet could barely be separated with the competitors looking to gain an edge any which way possible.
A matter of metres separated the competitors at the finish which made for some nerves on the race track. However the leading trio sailed well with control. Doi secured a 5-4, Zhang a 6-1 and Bertold a 2-9.
If Doi, Zhang and Bertold continue to post strong scores, the chasing pack will struggle to make the gains on the penultimate day ahead of Sunday’s Medal Race.
Men’s and Women’s 470
Spain’s Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera lead the way in the Men’s 470 after a good day on the water, heading back ashore with a bullet and a third to show for their efforts.
They are being pushed by China’s Hao Lan and Chao Wang who lay in second overall, but it is in the middle of the pack where it starts to get interesting.
Fighting for an Olympic qualification place are the Korean and Thailand teams. Currently with their noses in front are Korea’s Chang Ju Kim and Ji-Hoon Kim who managed to mark off both ends of the spectrum with a discarded OCS in the first race before coming back to take a bullet in the next.
Talking of the first race, crew Ji-Hoon Kim said, “We had some pressure and our minds and we were a little bit nervous. We could not see the line and we just pulled the main sheet and we had an OCS.”
Kim continued, “Our second race we were fast, and now I think we have a chance for Olympic qualification. We will try hard tomorrow, but it will still be very hard. But I am happy with our sailing.”
One place behind the two Kim’s are Thailand’s Navee Thamsoontorn and Nut Butmarasri who ended with a 13th and a discarded 16th.
It is still all too play for on the Olympic qualification front with Korea’s Daeyoung Kim and Hyun-Ho Yun and Singapore’s Darren Choy and Jeremiah Yeo hunting the two teams just ahead of them in the standings.
In a three way shootout between Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong in the Women’s 470 for Olympic qualification, it is Priscilla Low and Shu Xian Lee of Singapore who have the initiative.
Low and Lee are ahead of Malaysia’s Nuraisyah Jamil and Norashikin Mohd Sayed and Hong Kong’s Catherine Carroll and Chi Han Yau.
Despite a 15th in the first race of the day, which they discard, the Singaporean pair came back with a sixth in the second race to stay above their Rio qualification rivals.
Sitting above them, and all others in the fleet, are Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka who finally took the bullet they have been so close to all regatta. They stand top with ten points.
Taking the first bullet of the day were the second placed Xiaoli Wang and Lizhu Huang of China. Adding a third to the bullet means they have 15 points, just two ahead of compatriots Sasha Chen and Haiyan Gao.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
Tied at the top of the Men’s RS:X are China’s Bing Ye and Tao Li who both sit on 37 points. Ye took a bullet in the second race which was sandwiched between a fifth and eighth which all count on his scorecard. Li however posted a 14th in the second race which he discards. Fortunately for Li he scored two seconds to keep in touch with his compatriot.
Overnight leader Mateo Sanz Lanz of Switzerland slips down to fifth on the leader board.
China’s Jiahui Wu continues to lead the Women’s RS:X with a third, fifth and sixth place finish which she discards. Wu tops the leader board with 17 points.
Closest rival to Wu is China’s Peina Chen on 23 points which was helped by a bullet from the first race, followed by a third and a discarded seventh.
Spain’s Blanca Manchon is the nearest challenger to the Chinese sailors, lying in fourth overall on 45 points.
Finn and 49er
Lei Gong (CHN) and Luwen Shen (CHN) jockeyed for position in the Finn fleet as they shared the bullets on the third day of competition. Gong holds the advantage at the top of pack on eight points but Shen remains within touching distance on ten points.
The third placed He Chen (CHN) has shown he has the beating of the duo after he won the second race of the week but with an OCS his discard, he can’t take too many risks if he is to overtake the leading pair.
In the 49er, Kim Sungwok and Yang Hoyeob (KOR) are tied on ten points with Bongjim Chae and Kim Dongwook (KOR). The teams have four race victories apiece across the eight races over three days.
Nacra 17
It’s hard to bet against Justin Liu and Denise Lim (SIN) in the Nacra 17 with the pair making it look easy in the light Qingdao air.
Liu and Lim’s lightweight frames have seemingly given them a strong advantage in the Nacra 17 in Qingdao and after a 1-3-1 they have opened up a ten point advantage over Hong Kong’s Tat Choi Fung and Yu Ting Chan.
Across the week the Singaporean pair have won seven of nine races, dominating the fleet. On the race track itself Liu and Lim have found themselves behind at the first mark on several occasions but continuously push their way up through the bunch for win after win.
With the event acting as the Asian Nacra 17 Rio 2016 Olympic qualification regatta, another good day could see them book their spot on the start line and plan their road to Rio.
Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao resumes at 12:00 local time on Saturday 19 September.
Sailors were tested by a northern Rio breeze for the first time at the Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta in a testing day for the sailors and officials.
Heading into the day, upon viewing the forecast, many believed the Race Committees would be hard pressed to fit in any racing with 2-6 knots present.
A northern early afternoon breeze enabled the Nacra 17 and RS:X fleets to get some racing in before the breeze slowly turned round to the south.
It was a long day for all of the competitors as they waited for a breeze suitable for racing. The Finn and Nacra 17 fleet completed two whilst the 470s, 49erFX, Laser, Laser Radial and RS:X fleets got one race apiece in. Only the 49ers were unable to get any racing in.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
Aichen Wang’s (CHN) Olympic gold medal winning coach Tom Ashley (NZL) described his athlete’s performance as, “one of the best I have seen,” after the Chinese sailor opened up a 17 point lead over his Men’s RS:X rivals.
Ashley, who won gold in the Men’s RS:X at Beijing 2008, has guided Wang to five race victories from nine fleet races with the remaining results all in the top five.
The ball is firmly in Wang’s court heading into the Medal Race and Ashley was full of high praise after racing,”He’s been amazing this week. I have rarely seen anyone give such a good performance. All the years that I was sailing and the last couple of years I’ve been watching as a coach, so far, it’s been one of the best performances I have seen. We have still got the Medal Race tomorrow and
Entries have now closed for the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France and FISA, the World Rowing Federation, is delighted to announce a record 1,300 athletes from 77 countries will be lining up to race at this year’s most prestigious rowing event.
The 2015 World Rowing Championships also acts as the main qualification regatta for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games so athletes will not only be racing for World Championship titles, but also for the coveted 129 qualification spots for the Rio Olympics Games and the 24 spots for the Paralympic Games.
FISA President Jean-Christophe Rolland notes that the large number of entries is a reflection of the work that has gone into increasing rowing’s universality. “FISA has grown to 142 member federations and by the end of this year’s congress we will have at least 146,” says Rolland. “This growth internationally is reflected in the number of countries participating at the World Rowing Championships, and I am very pleased to welcome rowers from all corners of the globe and especially the newer rowing nations to Aiguebelette.”
“Having Olympic and Paralympic qualification spots available has also added to huge interest in this regatta,” says Rolland who won a gold medal in Aiguebelette in 1997, the last time the event was staged there.
The United States lead the way with the largest number of entries. They have entered boats in all 27 boat classes with the women’s eight their flagship crew. The US women’s eight has not lost a major race since 2006 with Canada being their nearest rival.
One of the largest fields is the men’s single sculls with 41 countries lining up. Two scullers, the reigning World Champion Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic and reigning Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand, have been the front-runners in the single. Now Cuba’s Angel Fournier Rodriguez, bronze medallist last year, is a clear threat along with the return to the international stage of Alan Campbell from Great Britain.
The women’s single sculls sees 35 countries represented. Australia’s Kim Crow is the favourite in this boat class as she comes into the regatta following an unbeaten season. Crow’s main challenges will come from Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic and Genevra Stone from the United States.
The lightweight men’s double sculls has attracted substantial interest especially for the home crowd. Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre of France have dominated the 2015 season. But they will have to contend with current World Champions John Smith and James Thompson of South Africa as well as 2013 World Champions from Norway Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli.
Winner of the 2015 World Rowing Cup series and the 2014 World Rowing Championship overall winner was New Zealand. They have entered 16 boats including entries in all of the Olympic boat classes.
Competition goes from 30 August to 6 September with racing spread across 27 boat classes comprising of 14 Olympic, eight International and five Para-rowing boat classes.
Olympic fever returns to the FEI European Championships in Aachen (GER) this week with three berths at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games up for grabs in Jumping. And with European Driving and Vaulting medals also on offer it’s going to be a hectic schedule right up to the closing ceremony next Sunday evening.
Jumping
The Jumping horses had their first tour of the Soers arena in this afternoon’s training session and the competition proper gets underway tomorrow, 19 August, with the first qualifying competition for individuals and teams which begins at 14.30 local time.
Following the withdrawal of Dimitri Natsis (GRE), a total of 94 horse-and-rider combinations from 28 nations will compete, and 23 countries will battle it out for the team medals. Only The Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden have already achieved Olympic Jumping qualification, so the race for those last remaining Rio spots will be run between the rest. The British return as defending team champions, while individual title-holder, Roger Yves Bost, will be flying the French flag once again.
British Chef d’Equipe, Di Lampard, has the weight of Olympic qualification on her shoulders this week as well as the defence of the European team title, but she’s optimistic about her side’s chances. “We’ve had a great season and the actual team we have here this week is the winning Nations Cup team from Rotterdam”, she said today. “The spirit in this team is second to none and we are well-prepared and looking forward to it.”
The host nation hasn’t enjoyed the same level of recent success in team events, but Germany’s Otto Becker is reckoning on the “home advantage”, and that extra element could count for a lot.
The first round of the Jumping team competition and second individual qualifier takes place on Thursday, with the top 10 teams going through to Friday’s team medal decider. And then, following a rest day on Saturday, the top 25 will go through to Sunday’s individual final which is always guaranteed to be a thriller.
Driving
When it comes to edge-of-the-seat action, the Four-in-Hand Driving Championships has plenty to offer.
The more demure Dressage takes place on Wednesday and Thursday followed by the Cones phase on Friday, testing accuracy and control. But then the handbrakes come off for Saturday’s Marathon, which is always hugely popular with the spectators as the drivers steer their teams through a series of cross-country obstacles at tremendous speed. It is no easy feat and is always guaranteed to provide plenty of drama.
A record number of 14 nations will be represented by 36 drivers and 12 teams. And the Dutch will be going for a hat-trick of team titles led by defending individual champion IJsbrand Chardon.
Vaulting
When it comes to numbers, the Vaulters have the most, with 130 athletes from 15 nations demonstrating their strength, power and immense athleticism in the battle for individual, pas-de-deux and squad medals when the action gets underway on Thursday.
The popularity of this equestrian sport continues to grow at an incredible rate, and there will be plenty of home support for the German team as they come out to defend their title in the squads. But in the absence of Britain’s Joanne Eccles, and French stars Jacques Ferrari and Nicolas Andreani who are all now retired, new individual champions will be crowned, while Austria’s Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wacha, the current world and European champions, are expected to dominate the Pas-de-Deux.
The Pas-de-Deux and male individual medals will be awarded on Saturday, with the prize-giving for individual female and squads on Sunday.
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