DAY 1 | A SIGH OF RELIEF FOR PICON
Guanabara Bay delivered some great sailing conditions to launch the Olympic Sailing Competition today, but it was still very, very tricky out there.
Women’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Charline Picon (FRA) had a stunning start to her week, scoring 1,2,1 from the opening three races. Next best was Stefaniya Elfutina (RUS) who lies in second place ahead of Flavia Tartaglini (ITA). The defending Olympic Champion Marina Alabau (ESP) had a solid day to lie in 5th overall but one of the other pre-event favourites, Bryony Shaw (GBR) struggled and sits in 10TH at the moment.
Picon was breathing a sigh of relief after racing. “I had a lot of pressure and to begin like that? Well I couldn’t have imagined that yesterday because I was a little bit stressed. I’m happy but I need to stay focussed.”
Local sailor Patricia Freitas (BRA) revelled in the stronger breezes to lie in 6th overall. “We had a very good day, sunshine and strong winds, unexpected for this time of year. The Brazilian spirit is everywhere, it’s very special for us to have people watching us racing because that doesn’t happen very often in sailing. Thanks to the Bay we can set up a good place for the people to watch, and when we were rounding the mark near the beach I could recognize a few friends. It was a great spirit and great to be part of.”
READ ABOUT: Men’s Windsurfer – RS:X
RESULTS AFTER 3 RACES
