Day 8 Men’s 470: Aussie stars within a whisker of retaining the world crown
Men’s 470 (revised)
Defending world champions, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS), did enough on the penultimate day of the Men’s 470 to put them in the box seat in Sunday’s Medal Race off Bathers Bay.
The pair picked up sixth and fifth placings on Saturday for an overall 20 points, well clear of Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell on 38 points, and Croatia’s Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic on 46 points.
Celebrations are on hold for the Aussies with Page saying: “It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.
“At this moment we can’t let the foot off the accelerator and just need to try and keep the gap between us and them.”
The Croatian pair had a stellar day, winning the ninth race and taking third in the 10th.
Luke Patience finished eighth and ninth to slip further behind the Australians on points going into the Medal Race.
In race nine, which finished in seven-nine knot winds, Fantela had an armchair ride to victory but most eyes were on Belcher and Patience.
The Australians struggled in 13th to 15th placings for much of the race but it was a cat-and-mouse chase for the final downwind leg with the GBR crew, with the advantage shifting frequently.
Belcher gained the better of the final turn and finished sixth to Patience’s eighth giving the Australian more breathing space for Sunday.
Patience said: “It was close between us in the overalls for sure, but by no means were we match racing them and I don’t think they were match racing us, because we don’t have the luxury of both being far enough ahead to do that.
“We came here to win the Worlds and if Mat and Mal are a good chunk of points ahead of us then that’s going to be a very hard thing.
“We haven’t come here to stand on the podium in silver position, but things change through the week and you have to reassess your goals if you lose points, which we did in some races.
Two of the biggest movers in the final two races were Israel’s Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela and Greece’s Panagiotis Kampouridis and Efstathios Papadopoulos.
The Israelis finished fifth and first to rank fourth ahead of the Medal Race while the Greeks were third and second, lifting their final ranking from 22nd to 12th.
Men's 470 crews contesting the Medal Race (subject to protest).
1. Belcher and Page (AUS), 2. Patience and Bithell (GBR), 3. Fantela and Marenic (CRO), 4. Kliger and Sela (ISR), 5. Charbonnier and Mion (FRA), 6. Leboucher and Garos (FRA), 7. Snow Hansen and Saunders (NZL), 8. Rogers and Grube (GBR), 9. Mantis and Kagialis (GRE), 10. Barreiros and Sarmiento (ESP)
The Men’s 470 Medal Race is scheduled to start at 1410 on the Centre course on Sunday.