With the medal race soon to start, check the latest from the RS:X ISAF Mens Worlds right here…
There was fast wind and equally fast windsurfing in the Men’s RS:X Gold fleet racing Saturday, with Piotr Myszka (POL), Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) and Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) filling the top three places overall.
Just one point separates world number one Myszka (24) and van Rijsselberghe (25) ahead of Sunday’s Medal race.
Race 9 and 10 on Saturday produced mixed results, and slightly shuffled the top 10.
Miarczynski, now third, swapped positions with Nimrod Mashich (ISR), now in fourth.
The first race of the day was marked by two things; a constant divide of athletes and a consistent top three that lead for much of the race.
Andreas Cariolou (GRE) took a third of the sailors to the left, while Tom Ashley (NZL) lead the remaining two thirds right.
Fifteen minutes into the race and a strong top three emerged. Ashley blazed the trail, with Piotr Myszka (POL) and Ricardo Winicki Santos (BRA) following.
After another split, Elliot Carney (GBR) sped ahead, warding off teammate Nick Dempsey while Greece’s Byron Kokkalanis was tailed by Miarczynski.
Dorian van Risselberghe appeared to be lost in the crowd for much of the race, but in a dramatic turn of events, began to overtake his rivals. First, Cariolou, then, Santos.
“I’m pretty confident – I’m wearing my lucky hat, my lucky sunglasses and my lucky undies,” van Risselberghe said this morning.
But despite van Risselberghe’s efforts, he couldn’t gain enough pace to outdo Ashley and Myszka.
Ashley spent most of the race well out in front, but Myszka caught up to cross just one second later. That win saw Ashley move from 9th to 5oth overall.
In race 10, no-one could come between the two Polish sailors Myszka and Miarczynski.
“It was hard on the last race; I think I’m a bit slower on the port on the upwind so I was afraid Piotr (Myszka) was going to catch me there,” Miarczynski said.
“But finally, I thought, I have nothing to lose and went on the other side – to the downwind. I was behind him on the end just before the gate and finally I got the gust and I caught him.”
Van Risselberghe once again started poorly, but in the second race of the day he didn’t recover.
“Bad luck today,” he said on returning to beach at Bathers Bay.
Similarly, Nimrod Mashich (ISR) fell short of his recent winning streak, placing 8th and 9th on Saturday.
The Medal Race will see another tough competition between the top three.
“I think I have already won a medal so tomorrow (Sunday) I will try and defend my first place title,” Myszka said.
The Medal Race for the Men’s RS:X World Championship is scheduled to start at 1510 local time on Centre Course on Sunday 18 December.
Medal Race competitors (subject to protest):
Piotr Myszka (POL)
Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED)
Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL)
Nimrod Mashich (ISR)
Tom Ashley (NZL)
Jon Paul Tobin (NZL)
Byron Kokkalanis (GRE)
Joao Rodrigues (POR)
Ivan Pastor (ESP)
Julien Bontemps (FRA)
www.perth2011.com for more
