There is no medal race final for either the Irish mens 49er or women's 49er FX in today's French Sailing World Cup event at Hyeres. Multiple top ten finishes yesterday gave Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern 19th overall in a 40–boat fleet while Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey were 21st from 24.
The question of the week at Sailing World Cup Hyères was, 'can anyone stop New Zealanders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke on their quest for Olympic glory?' Evidence suggests the answer to that question is a resounding no as they made it 26 consecutive wins. A simply outstanding performance.
Not even a couple of capsizes could halt them and they take a 48-point lead into the Medal Race tomorrow. The 49er completed three races and the Kiwis notched up a 10-1-(28). The pair were black flagged in the final race of the day but the breeze completely died resulting in an abandonment. Even if the race concluded, they would have still taken a winning margin into the Medal Race.
Getting carried away isn't in Burling and Tuke's nature. They remain grounded, modest and most importantly, focused on what's ahead, no matter how much the world's press builds them up to be Olympic champions in waiting, "Obviously we are really happy with how we have been going,” explained Burling, "but we have a lot of hard work to do over the next three or four months just to finish it off and finish off the final detailing.”
A 28th and a black flag is rare for Burling and Tuke and whilst they laughed it off back ashore, they won't want a repeat at Rio 2016, "If Rio was tomorrow, I don't feel like I think we are ready yet. We still have plenty in the tank and we're looking forward to the challenge,” concluded Burling.
The story for the Medal Races will be the fight for the remaining podium spots and internally between the British 49er sailors. The silver and bronze occupants are Will and Sam Phillips (AUS) on 92 points and Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck (DEN) on 94 points.
Great Britain's James Peters and Fynn Sterritt are the leading British crew on 100 points with Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign and John Pink and Stuart Bithell nine points behind. The British Rio 2016 spot is still up for grabs and selectors are in town, keeping a close watch over the racing.