Olympic preview, Day 4
Australian Sailing Team Leader Iain Murray breaks down what we’ve seen so far at Tokyo 2020, and what we could be seeing today.
28 July 2021
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Today the Laser classes will have their first rest day after a particularly big day for the men with three races and some big waits yesterday. Those two classes are now over half way through their program; having completed six of their ten races.
We will also see the skiffs back in action, as well as getting our first look at the Nacras (three races) and the Men’s and Women’s 470 teams (two races each). We have a huge number of athletes out on the water today so it is going to be another important day for the squad as a whole.
Today brings the wind back to a more normal direction; coming onshore out of the south-west. We are expecting anywhere from 10 to over 20 knots depending on how it mixes and comes down. It looks to be a more normal day with strong winds for Enoshima.
These conditions are similar to those that we grow up with in the Southern Hemisphere, which will put a smile on the faces of our athletes.
The wind here is already in the south-west and it will build throughout the day. It’s essentially Japan’s equivalent of a summer day with a nor’easter back home.
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Mat and Will are in great shape. The immense detail they have brought into this campaign means that everything is ticked off, crossed and polished. They are so ready-aye-ready to race.
Their time has come.
Nia and Monique are in fantastic shape. They will enjoy the weather forecast for today; being Western Australian girls they tend to like a bit more breeze. They’ve been working hard on their light air performances, but seeing full power conditions today will put a smile on both of their faces. Remember that when we had these conditions here for the test event in 2019 they came within one point of winning.
Don’t be surprised to see a surprise here.
Having these Southern Hemisphere-type conditions will be good for Jason and Lisa. The Italian team have traditionally been very strong when it is windy, but Jason and Lisa have been working super hard on their game so it will be interesting to see where they lay after a long time away from international competition.
I think we all have a huge amount of confidence in Jason and Lisa.
Jake had a really solid day yesterday. He had a bit of snakes and ladders throughout his two races, but he ended up with two reasonable scores on the scoreboard to start his campaign and get the nerves out of his tummy.
I expect that the bigger breeze along with his size and fitness will help Jake today. I expect that he will continue to chip away with solid scores.
The FX races are on a bit later in the day, when we are expecting that bigger breeze to come in. The wild conditions are going to be a real test for the entire fleet, but Tess and Jaime’s great strength is that they have magnificent boat handling skills. When you combine the expected weather with their skills, I am expecting good things from the girls today.
The Phillips boys will be looking at the weather forecast today and rubbing their hands. This is exactly the sort of breeze that they have grown up with and that they enjoy, so they will be excited to get on the water and show their skills today.
Typically they have been doing three lap races (in the 49er) so it will be interesting to see today whether they lengthen the course and only do two laps, but for the Phillips’ they don’t care. They like that sun and wind and putting the bow down and letting it rip.
The sailing action will commence today at 1:05pm AEST with the third race of the Men’s Finn, which will be streaming live on 7Plus.
This article was originally published by Australian Sailing.
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Olympic preview, Day 3