Mills and Clark forced to play golden waiting game

Laura Hodgetts

Britain's Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark have to wait until this afternoon to confirm their status as Rio 2016 470 Women’s gold medallists after a lack of wind postponed yesterday's racing.

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A lack of breeze and an unfavourable wind direction on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf) race course yesterday resulted in the Rio 2016 Olympic sailing regatta officials postponing the men’s and women’s 470 medal races yesterday.

They will now return to try again from 5pm today, which will set up another bumper day of medal races, with four back-to-back finals of the 470 dinghy class plus the men’s 49er and women’s 49erFX skiff racing.

With a 20-point advantage over their nearest challengers, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, (NZL), Mills and Clark just have to successfully complete the double points medal race without disqualification or retiring. If no racing is possible tomorrow, medals will be awarded on current standings, confirming the Brits as champions.

A lack of breeze and an unfavourable wind direction on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf) race course yesterday. ©Sailing Energy_World Sailing

Calm conditions on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf) race course. ©Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Mills would have liked to have got the medal race completed, but the wait for that gold medal goes on. ‘You just want to stand on the podium with the medal around your neck so no one can take it away from you. There’s little things in competition that can add points to your score and we want it to be done.’

Clark added: None of us were expecting [to win with the medal race to go] in a venue like this as it’s so hard. It’s been seven long days of competition and three races yesterday. It was hard to keep emotional control.’

The 470s’ medal race rollover means Britain could claim two medals on the final scheduled day of the Rio 2016 sailing regatta, with Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign also still in the hunt for a Games debut podium finish in the 49er skiff class.

To be in with the chance of a medal, Fletcher and Sign have to put four boats between themselves and the Australians, who currently occupy bronze medal position, and have six boats between them and the Germans in second to win silver.

Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth in the 49erFX ©Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth in the 49erFX ©Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Neither the British pairs of Luke Patience and Chris Grube in the 470 Men and Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth in the 49erFX are able to win a medal but want to end their Rio regatta on a high and improve on their current sixth and seventh place standings respectively.

Grube said: ‘We just want to sail the best we can. Ultimately fourth place is still up for grabs – the old leather medal – and we just want to do the best we can and end with the best result.’

Talking about yesterday’s postponement, Patience added: ‘As a team in a challenging venue we’re so kitted out and ready for long delays and comfortable in our athlete containers so it’s a very easy day watching the Olympic Games on the TV, having a snooze and eating well. It’s the nature of our sport. It was definitely the right decision to cancel the racing today.

‘Ali Young said something cool to me in the container. I was a bit ‘Ah here we go, wait another day for racing’ and she said everyday of your life that you’re waking up and racing at the Olympic Games is a great day. What a cool thing to say and she’s so right as well. You might only do it once, and here we are with another chance to go out and represent Queen and country and do the sport that we love doing.’

Sail for Gold Roadshow

Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign racing in the 49er skiff class ©Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign racing in the 49er skiff class ©Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Anyone can try sailing for free at Fletcher’s local club, Rutland SC, as part of the RYA’s Sail for Gold Roadshows from 10am today. All comers are then invited to watch the 49er medal race and cheer the Brits on with friends, and members of the British Sailing Team from 5pm.

There is also a Sail for Gold Roadshow in Patience and Dobson’s home nation of Scotland with all school children able to try sailing for free at Yorkhill Quay on the River Clyde, Glasgow from 10am today.

Results will be available on World Sailing’s Olympic website when racing starts.

The racing will also be available to watch in 2D and 3D via live tracking.

Find out more about the day-by-day BBC Sport coverage here.

Follow the action online at http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/home.php, on Twitter @worldsailing and on Facebook.

Support the British Sailing Team at Rio 2016 by visiting www.rya.org.uk/Rio2016, liking the team on Facebook and following @BritishSailing on Twitter.