It may have been a case of “saved by the wind” for Rio Olympic champion, Marit Bouwmeester. The three-time world champion led by 24 points over night but saw her margin trimmed to just two points after the first race of the final day. A big wind shift caught a number of the top sailors out, and Bouwmeester, who received a yellow flag (penalty turns), finished 29th. This became her second “drop” but brought into play a 24th from yesterday.
When asked why she was penalised she said, “Too much rocking. I was thinking ‘I deserve a yellow flag’ and I got one.”
Gold fleet went into sequence again, still with the chance of two more races, but the wind continued to die and back to the south-east. At 3pm, the deadline for racing to start on the final day, the AP over A was flown and a relieved Dutch woman made her way back to the clubhouse.
Bouwmeester, who was famous for always training on her own, has recently joined three other women in the Dutch squad and all four finished in the top 10. Maxime Jonkers was second, just two points behind, while Daphne van der Vaart was seventh and Mirthe Akkerman was 10th. Norwegian Line Flem Host took third and defending champion Anne-Marie Rindom, who became ill during the event, was fourth.
“We just started training together and the level of training is so high, they are pushing me every day. This is really a team effort.”
The result has given Bouwmeester a welcome boost ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, where she will now be favorite to defend her gold medal. More here.
Title inspiration thanks to Drizzy.
