49er, Nacra 17 and 49er FX Olympic Classes Head Into Friday With Medal Race Berths on the Line
SAN PEDRO, CA – The race to compete in Saturday’s Final is on at San Pedro OCR as shifting leaderboards and narrow point margins across the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets set the stage for a decisive final day of qualifying at the future L.A. 2028 Olympic venue.
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Today’s racing will determine the 10 boats advancing to Saturday’s Medal Races in each Olympic class, raising the stakes for athletes situated in positions 9 through 15 as the regatta enters its final stretch.
Standings in the 3 fleets have stayed remarkably open, especially for those sitting below the top 2 places. The closest battle may be in the Nacra 17 fleet, where Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson surged into the overall lead by a single point after winning the final race of the day. France’s Tim Mourniac and Aloïse Retornaz slipped to a very tight second, while Dutch teammates Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman stand in third after opening yesterday with a bullet.
“It was the first day we sailed on the inner course, and it was shifty and gusty, so you really had to keep your head out of the boat,” said Jonsson. “It was a lot of maneuvers and a lot of close racing – lots of action and heavy work.”
With 21 Nacra 17s racing inside the L.A. break water, the boats’ 8.5 foot beams layered in a space management factor for crews.
“It’s not so common that we have to yell for room to tack,” Järudd laughed. “We have terrible angles upwind in the Nacra. We’re almost 120 degrees sometimes, so it was really boundary racing for us on the inside which was exciting.”
Further down the leaderboard, Brits John Gimson and Anna Burnet spent Thursday grinding their way back into podium contention after a tough final race on Wednesday. The pair posted 3 consecutive second-place finishes to earn their way back into the top 5 overall. Finns Akseli Keskinen, Austrians Laura Farese and Matthäus Zöchling, and Americans Riley Gibbs and Kay Brunsvold currently sit on the cut line, with each posting at least 1 top 3 finish so far on the week. With the Nacra 17 fleet returning to more predictable racing outside the break water Today, opportunities will avail themselves for those teams that get off the start line with speed to move up the standings and secure their spot in the final.
In the 49er class, the day’s course was set up further south than the week’s earlier races, with the start line sited about 1.5 miles southwest of Angel’s Gate. Aided by a knot of downwind current, Richard Schulteis and Fabian Rieger defended their overall lead despite what they described as a “mixed feelings” day. The German team recovered from an early penalty to post a top 3 finish in the final race.
“The first race was a little bit up and down. We had to do a penalty turn, but then we had a nice catch-up in the second race and the last race was also quite clean,” said Rieger. “Overall we’re leading, so we’re quite happy.”
Schulteis and Rieger have now led the regatta wire-to-wire. New Zealand’s Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn concluded Day 4 in second overall after posting finishes of first and second in the opening 2 races, while France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin held onto third.
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The pair say they plan to place their primary thought and focus on racing their own race, rather than necessarily defending their advantage.
“Racing inside, it could be a little more interesting with a bit more tricky conditions,” Rieger said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’re focused on the day’s racing for now and then we’ll see where we are for the medal race.”
Another key development in the class saw home-venue duo Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid of the U.S. return to the top 10, rebounding from a difficult Wednesday series. Sebastien Schneiter and Arno De Planta of Switzerland sit just 1 point behind Snow and MacDiarmid after a 4-race redemption run earned them a shot at making the cut for tomorrow’s Final. Schneiter and De Planta occupy the cutoff position for qualifying with Austrian team Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger, who share identical cumulative scores.
The 49erFX leaderboard remains just as fluid. Great Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey strengthened their overall lead after opening the day with another win, continuing a steady performance that has seen them move from third after Day 1 and second after Day 2, eventually taking over the lead Wednesday. Vilma Bobek and and Ebba Berntsson of Sweden stayed in second.
Canada’s Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance mounted a drive that included a pair of back-to-back second-place finishes in the final 2 races of the day. The Canadian sisters said that limiting mistakes has become increasingly important following a difficult Wednesday that included a costly capsize.
“Little mistakes are really, really costly out here,” said Georgia Lewin-LaFrance. “We’re trying to keep our heads in it and finish strong and keep learning from the conditions on the different race courses.”
Like many competitors this week, Georgia and Antonia, who currently sit third overall, also pointed to the future Olympic venue’s unique start dynamics, which sees much of the fleet launching off the line on port to reach the favored right side of the course.
“It’s hectic,” said Antonia Lewin-LaFrance. “If you relax for 1 second and don’t look around for a moment, you’re going to be late.”
Racing continues through Saturday, August 8. Event details, entry lists, results, and schedules can be found at sanpedroocr.org and you can follow the regatta on instagram at @SanPedroOCR. In this second week of racing, 140 competitors from 20 countries are competing, including 27 Olympians. Among them are the winners of 7 Olympic medals including 1 gold, 5 silver, and 1 bronze.
Generous support for the regatta is provided by Capstan, BP Home, American Marine, and the Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO). Race Committee and volunteer support is made possible with the help of World Sailing, Los Angeles Yacht Club, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, Balboa Yacht Club, California Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
San Pedro OCR is 1 of only 2 major Olympic Class events that take place in the United States.
Headline Credit: Bill MeGowan
Media Contact: Meredith Glacken
Phone: 415-515-2084
