Sailing Olympics, Tita-Banti devastating in Marseille: three races, three firsts!

Sailing Olympics, what happened today

There are other medals within our reach: first and foremost on the Nacra 17 mixed catamaran where the reigning Olympic champions, Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, are making the best of things, seeming to be unstoppable.
But it’s not just them: the impression that they can do better than in Sydney 2000, when sailing Italy won a gold and a silver (Alessandra Sensini on the Mistral sailboards, Luca Devoti on the Finns) … is more than an impression.
But let’s proceed in order, class by class.

Nacra 17 – Tita-Banti unstoppable

We told you about them right away, and it could not be otherwise: Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti.
There is the fleet of strong mixed flying catamaran Nacra 17 athletes.
And then there are them, aliens.

After six trials, Ruggero and Catarina discard their worst result (a second!) and, with five total points, already have a ten-point lead over New Zealanders Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson (5-3-7-2-2-3) and as many as 16 over Argentines Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco (2-2-5-10-6-6).

ILCA 6 and 7 – Bravo Chiara, bravo Lorenzo!

Let’s move on to the ILCA 6 and 7 (formerly Laser), which feature Chiara Benini Floriani in the women’s race (ILCA 6) and Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini in the men’s (ILCA 7).

Kitesurfing debuts – Way to go Maggie Pescetto!
Pianosi well

Today – a historic event – kiteboarding debuted for the first time at the Sailing Olympics.
They are Riccardo Pianosi and Maggie Eillen Pescetto defending the Italian colors at Paris 2024.
And they arrived in Marseille to watch.
Pianosi had a “soft” debut and after the first three races is in sixth place (10-6-8).
Better, however, Maggie Pescetto among the women: the Genoese athlete is in fourth place with partials of 5-7-3.
Anything can still happen and beware, we remind you (rules at the bottom of the article) that on kites, after four days of racing the top 10 qualify for the Medal Race.
From then on, only the finishers from third to 10th place race in the first phase of the Medal.
The top two from this phase then join the first and second overall for the final four.

470 – Bertha and Festo do not bite

Not so good news comes from the mixed 470 class, where defending the blue colors are our Elena Berta and Bruno Festo: a decidedly bad day for them today, a fifteenth in today’s first race, a decent tenth and then a DNF assigned to them in race three for not having accomplished the penalty assigned to them (720, i.e., two laps on themselves for “pumping”).

They are currently, after six races, in fourteenth position (3-13-12-15-10-DNF).
There are still four more races to go; the goal is to hit the Medal Race.
For now the last available place, 10th, is 11 points away.
Our people can make it but they need some “exploits” like the one they were capable of in the opening race.

Sailing Olympics, what happens tomorrow

Tomorrow, August 5, the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 will take to the water for the last two “regular” races before the Medal Race, while the 470 and Nacra will be on the water for the third day of competition.
Second day instead for men’s and women’s kites.
Tomorrow the weather forecast is for little wind.

How to follow the sailing Olympics live

You can follow the Sailing Olympics “live” if you have a subscription to Discovery Plus: RAI and other pay channels will broadcast any medal races if there are real medal chances.
Tofind out everything about the schedule, we recommend you check the official World Sailing schedule while to be updated on the results in real time at this link all the rankings. There is also a dedicated page on the Sport Sailing website, Where to follow live race tracking.

• Azzurri at the Olympics: who are the Italians in the hunt for medals
• Everything you need to know about the Olympic classes competing in Marseille

Olympics, how regattas work

Depending on the classes competing(everything you need to know about the classes here), athletes competing in the Marseille Olympics must race for 4, 5 or 6 days.
Each regatta lasts between 15 and 50 minutes depending on the type of boat. In the case of dinghies, skiffs and catamarans (470, ILCA, Nacra 17, 49er and 49er FX) athletes are awarded points equal to their placing in their respective races.
The first is awarded one point, the second two points, and so on.
At the end of the first 4-5 days of racing, the games are “almost done.”
The top 10 ranked crews participate in the very final, called the Medal Race.
Here the rules change, because the points won are worth double: the first gets 2 points, the second 4, and so on.
If you get to the Medal Race with the “short” ranking, this last round is decisive.
In the end, the podium is composed of the athletes/crew with the lowest total number of points. The racing format is different for iQFOil boards and Formula Kite.
In the boards, there are four days of competition and the spots will be different from day to day.
Athletes must alternate between conventional courses, slalom and endurance trials.
In the latter, the points won count double.
The final day is decisive and very intense.
The quarterfinals are reserved for athletes so far ranked from fourth to tenth.
The top two from this “playoff” are selected for the semifinals, which are played in a four-way tie, along with the second and third overall.
The very final is between the top two finishers of the semifinal and the leader of the overall ranking.
The podium is already known before going into the water, only the color of each athlete’s medal to be determined. On the Kites, on the other hand, after four days of racing, the top 10 qualify for the Medal Race.
From then on, only the third through 10th place finishers race in the first phase of the Medal.
The top two from this phase then join the first and second overall for the final four.
In the final, each individual race win is worth one point.
The first to reach 3 points wins the gold medal. edited by Eugenio Ruocco