Before the medal race tomorrow, the Swedish duo Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler still have a chance at Olympic Games gold. This despite a worse result in the 12th and final preliminary race.
On Wednesday, the final three races in the 49erFX class were sailed before the medal race tomorrow, Thursday. And the Swedish duo had a fine day out at sea off the coast of Marseille. Bobeck and Netzler won the two initial heats, but the 12th and final one went worse.
Sweden received a penalty, and then took a less effective route, which resulted in an 18th place in the final race. Fortunately for Sweden, however, the worst of all 12 placements in the overall standings is discarded, which means that the final heat is struck.
This means that Sweden still has a chance at gold before the final tomorrow. The duo is in third place before the final, with only seven points up to France in the lead.
The medal race starts at 15.43 on Thursday.
In the 49erFX class, 20 teams are competing, including Swedish Rebecca Netzler and Vilma Bobeck.
A preliminary series is run first over 12 races, where all teams participate. The placement in each heat is then counted as points. The lowest points win.
Example: The team that wins each race gets one point, and the team that comes last gets 20.
Each team is then allowed to discard their worst placement. In Sweden's case, 18 points are discarded, as it was the worst Swedish result.
After the 12 races, the top 10 teams advance to a decisive medal race. There, everything is decided, and double points apply. The winner gets two points, the runner-up gets four, and so on. Standings before the medal race:
1. France, 67 points
2. The Netherlands, 69 points
3. Sweden, 74 points
4. Norway, 76 points
