Tokyo Olympics 2021: Plastic bag foils Australian sailors’ Bronze medal quest
An unbiodegradable rudder snag has ended the medal dream of two Aussie sailors in one of the most bizarre stories of the Olympics.
Olympics
Don't miss out on the headlines from Olympics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin have revealed a plastic bag hooked on their rudder has foiled their bid for a medal in Japan.
The devastated cousins were in a bronze medal winning position when disaster struck in the medal race of the Nacra 17 on Tuesday.
The pair had forced their German rivals to do a penalty turn, allowing them to escape and move into a strong position for third overall.
But Waterhouse said the boat suddenly lost speed and only later did he realise plastic had hooked on.
“I don’t know if I could have discovered it earlier,’’ he said.
“But it slowed us right down.’’
The ‘Yin and Yang’ cousins of Aussie sailing
They are the “Yin and Yang” sailing cousins hoping to follow in teammate Matt Wearn’s wake and stage a stirring comeback that will deliver them a medal on Tuesday.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin said they might lack the speed of their rivals but they have more than enough fight in them to end the day as bronzed Aussies in the foiling Nacra 17 class.
“We were gutted we can’t fight for the other colours but we are still in medal contention and that’s good,’’ said Darmanin, a self described “nerdy academic’’ compared to her laid-back but risk-taking cousin.
“We are up for the fight. We have the tools to do it we just need to get the boast (three) between us and the Germans.
“We are proud of the way we are sailing but speed has let us down, that makes things a little trickier.’’
Waterhouse believes his and Darmanin’s opposite personalities complement each other on a catamaran which has been put on foils in Tokyo to fly higher and faster than ever before.
“We really are Yin and Yang but it works for us,” Waterhouse said.
“I am sporty, Lisa is the academic. Lisa is diligent, organised, hardworking, really bright, likes routine and schedules.
“I’m the opposite. I like to go with the flow, nothing much upsets me, I’m very flexible. I’m also a bit of a risk taker. But it works.
“We might be very different but we have the same goals and that’s what is important and what makes us work together.”
Despite spending months at a time together travelling and racing round the world since they were teenagers, Waterhouse said there has never been agrimony between them.
“We don’t fight. Really we don’t. There is no point in having a fight,” Waterhouse said.
“We have discussions, we debate, we do not always agree but fighting doesn’t help the situation.
“I’ve learnt that with mixed sailing. Talk, don’t fight.”
The pair, both 29 and hailing form Sydney’s northern beaches, are in fourth place heading into the double pointscoring medal race on Tuesday in Enoshima.
Their main rivals for the bronze medal is the German team of Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer, seven points ahead in third place.
COUSINS LOOK TO ADD POLISH TO IMPRESSIVE AUSSIE REGATTA
Australia has a gold in the bag and is on course for medal success in the 470 class, but it will take a good bit of Aussie cunning, ingenuity and a sail bag of grit for another team to add to the sailing medal haul.
On the day Laser sailor Matt Wearn finally pulled his gold medal around his neck, the Nacra 17 pairing of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin stayed within striking distance of a bronze ahead of their regatta decider on Tuesday.
The gold and silver medals are now out of their grasp but bronze is still up for grabs, with Germany their nearest rivals.
“We are disappointed the gold is out of our reach because that is what we came for,’’ Waterhouse said. “But there is still a bronze up for grabs and that’s what we will fight for.’’
The Sydney team lack the upwind speed of their main European rivals, who have had the benefit of more regattas and training time together.
The pair are in fourth place overall, seven points behind the German team, which equates to them needing three boats between them in the medal race.
“We still need to have a good look at the points and work out what we will do,’’ Waterhouse said.
Gold medal favourites Mat Belcher and Will Ryan had an impressive day on the water in the 470 class, with just two races on Monday to contest before Wednesday’s medal race.
The pair recorded a second and first on a long, hot day on the water.
“It was very physical out there. We will sleep well tonight,’’ Ryan said.
Belcher won gold with his old crewmate, Mal Page, at the London Olympics and is an eight-time world champion.
Belcher and Ryan won silver together in Rio and opted to stay together in an attempt to go one better in Tokyo.
The Australian sailing team is tiny compared to rowing, swimming and athletics. It comprises eight crews for a total of just 13 sailors.
AUSTRALIAN RESULTS
Matt Wearn, Laser, 2nd in medal race. GOLD overall
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, Nacra 17, 6-4-8 to be fourth overall with medal race to sail.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, 470 men, 2-1 to be 1st overall with two races and a medal race to sail.
Light winds blow hope into Aussie campaign
The lighter winds that blew Matt Wearn to his gold medal position in the Laser fleet have also helped resuscitate the campaign of a pair of struggling cousins who have vowed an to fight to the end for a medal in Tokyo.
Lacking upwind speed on rivals who have trained together throughout the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin showed they still have a few tricks up their sleeve with a 1st, 5th and 4th to be in 4th place overall at the end of their delayed racing in the foiling Nacra 17s.
The pairs medal will be decided on Tuesday with the pair now just three points off a bronze medal position with four races to sail.
“Jason made some bold and clever decisions,’’ said crew Darmanin after they returned to shore after almost six hours on the water.
“It was a good day for us.’’
Waterhouse was relieved to have left the water with three strong scores.
“That was potentially going to be the trickiest day of the week so we are happy to come away with three keepers,’’ he said.
“But we still have three more races in tricky conditions and anything can happen.’’
In the women’s 49er FX racing, Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan posted an 11th and 8th to finish their regatta in 13th place overall in their first Olympics together.
“I think we’ve got to be proud of ourselves and the effort we put in to get here,’’ Ryan said.
“I think we will come away a bit disappointed with the result, we would have liked to have done better as we felt we were capable of more, but that’s the nature of the Olympics.’’
In the Finn class, Jake Lilley struggled in the early light winds for a 15th place before a sixth place left him in 9th place overall after eight races.
Will and Sam Phillips had a disappointing day on the 49er skiff with a 14th and 8th leaving them in 12th place overall.
On Sunday Matt Wearn will sail to ratify his gold medal in the Laser class and 470 gold medal contenders Mat Belcher and Will Ryan will return to the water after a lay day.
Belcher, Ryan on verge of Australian sailing history
If veteran skipper Mat Belcher and Will Ryan deliver a second sailing medal, with Matt Wearn almost guaranteed gold in the Laser, history will be made.
A medal at the Tokyo Games will see Gold Coast father-of-two Belcher become the first Australian sailor ever to win three medals after a gold in 2012 and a silver in 2016. And if it’s a gold, he will become the first Australian skipper to twice be an Olympic sailing champion.
Gold would see Ryan, from Newcastle, join an elite club as a dual Olympic medallist.
“We are pretty relaxed about it all and just enjoying the sailing together,’’ said Ryan after the pair posted a 4th and 3rd in ultra light winds on Friday.
“There wasn’t a lot of wind but we didn’t have any dramas.’’
Teammate Mara Stransky left the racetrack in tears and inconsolable on Thursday after being disqualified for a false start to her race.
Less than 24 hours later the Queenslander was all smiles as she raced to here first ever win in the Olympic arena on the final day of the Laser Radial racing.
Stransky, who has lived on a boat most of her life, is being targeted for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
She showed she has the grit to impress in three years with her fightback on the water on Friday delivering her the best results of her regatta
“I didn’t want to go back to Australia to two weeks of quarantine and have to think about ending the regatta on a bad note,” she said. “I was not happy with the other day. I didn’t want it to end like that.
“I wanted to do it for a lot of people and myself. So I’m pretty happy with that.”
Victorian brothers Will and Sam Phillips had a day they would prefer to forget, falling to 11th place in the 49er skiffs after a false start under black flag and then a 19th.
“It was just a shocker day on the water,’’ Will Phillips said.
The pair still have enough time to move up the rankings and into the top 10 who will race for medals next week.
AUSTRALIAN RESULTS
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, 470 men: 4-3, 1st after six races.
Matt Wearn, Laser single-handed class, 12-8, 1st after 10 races.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, Nacra 17, Lay day, fifth after six races.
Will and Sam Phillips, 49er skiff, UFD (premature start) 19, 11th after nine races.
Jake Lilley, Finn class, Lay Day, 8th after six races.
Mara Stransky, Laser Radial, 3-1 14th after 10 races.
Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan,
Nia Jerwood and Monique De Vries, 470 women, 19-19, 15th after six races.
Belcher on verge of Australian sailing history
Australian sailors dodged plastic bags and their rivals with equal finesse as two crews lived up to their billing as gold medal favourites and another showed they will shed blood to also make the podium.
Sailor Matt Wearn produced Australia’s first perfect day of racing, coming ashore with two wins, a new position at the top of the single-handed Laser pointscore and a grin on his face on Thursday.
“You have to be happy with that,’’ said the Perth sailor who gave up a potential career in the AFL to pursue his love of sailing.
Wearn said he is delighted he has been able to put behind two shock results in the opening races to quickly refocus on his goal of gold.
“We have processes that we follow and you just have to trust in them,’’ said Wearn, who was chosen to race in Tokyo over reigning Olympic champion Tom Burton and has the weigh of expectation on his shoulders.
“I felt like I under performed earlier this week so it was nice to be able to put together some performances like I would expect to do.’’
Rio silver medallist Mat Belcher and Will Ryan also produced two wins to maintain their lead in the 470 class on a day of moderate winds and bouncy seas south west of Tokyo.
Recent rain saw debris floating on the racecourse, from seagrass to wood and plastic bags - all potential hazards for sailors.
Belcher, who won gold at the Rio Olympics, is bidding to become the first Australian skipper to win two Olympics gold medals.
“It’s still early days, there’s lots more to come but we are just trying to keep those scores low,’’ Belcher said.
Australia’s third medal contenders, the Nacra 17 pair of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, were less happy with their day out, with a 4-7-8 leaving them in fifth place but still well within reach of the medal podium.
“To be honest those results are better than I thought it would be for us,’’ said Waterhouse who came ashore with a bloodied finger after cutting it during the racing.
But the pair said they are up for the fight – however painful.
Darmanin’s hands are cut to shreds and blistered, making her job as crew on the foiling Nacra 17 more difficult than usual.
“I think it’s the humidly. They have never been this bad before,’’ she said.
“We are really shedding blood, sweat and tears to get the job done.’’
AUSTRALIAN RESULTS
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, 470 men: 1-1, 1st after four races.
Matt Wearn, Laser single-handed class, 1-1, 1st after eight races.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, Nacra 17, 4-7-8, fifth after six races.
Will and Sam Phillips, 49er skiff, 13-17, 8th after six races.
Jake Lilley, Finn class, 7-9, 8th after six races.
Mara Stransky, Laser Radial, 20th, BFD-24, 20th after six races.
Nia Jerwood and Monique De Vries, 470 women, 12-8, 11th after four races.
BROTHERS CREATING WAVES FOR AUSSIES SAILING
By Amanda Lulham
And while medal hopes Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, in the 470, and Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, in the Nacra 17, were out racing for the first time, it was a pair of brothers making their Olympic debut who drew first blood for Australia in the moderate to strong winds and bouncy seas at Enoshima.
Will and Sam Phillips, racing the only Australian designed boat in the Games, became the first Australians to taste victory at the Olympics with a fourth, first and eighth on Wednesday which put them into 3rd place overall in the 49er skiff class
“It might be the first win but it won’t be the last one by an Australian,’’ said skipper Will Phillips, from Sorrento, in Victoria.
“We’re pretty happy with that day.’’
The pair were also delighted to have an incident-free day after their skiff hit a log at full speed in a practice race, severely damaging their centreboard.
Belcher, from the Gold Coast, and Ryan, from Newcastle, came off the water happy with their 2nd and 5th which has put them in the lead of the 470 class in which they won a silver in at the Rio Games.
“It was just nice to be out there after spending the last five years thinking out it,’’ said Ryan.’
“You are always a little nervous to get the first day in.’’
Also on the water was Queensland Finn sailor Jake Lilley who is in 9th place after his first four races and a 4th and 11th on Wednesday.
Laser medal hope Matt Wearn from Perth had a day’s rest after his mammoth effort in fighting his way back from a disastrous start to be placed second overall
Why Aussie sailor takes prize for weirdest injury
Sailing debutant Mara Stransky’s day started on a painful note as Australia’s sailors took to the waters off Enoshima, south west of Tokyo, for the first time on Sunday.
Debutant Stransky raced to a 12th and 26th in her first races at an Olympic Games after her day started on a painful note when she injured her foot launching her Laser Radial.
“It was low tide and as I went to jump on my boat, I stood on a sea urchin and felt the spine go through my boot and into my foot,’’ she said.
“So I spent my sail out to the start line trying to get bits of sea creature out of my foot and boot.’’
Meanwhile, gold medal contender Matt Wearn had hoped to start his campaign with a bang but instead finished 17th in a shock first-up result for the man who beat reigning Olympic champi
on Tim Burton for the Australian Laser spot in Tokyo.
While moderate conditions were the order of the day for the opening races, a different picture is being painted for Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Finn sailor Jake Lilley and the 49erFX team of Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan join the action with strong winds and big seas predicted.
With team boss, Iain Murray, describing the conditions as “fruity”, Wearn and Lilley, in particular, will relish these conditions.
“There will be plenty of rock and roll. It will be interesting. It would be just like sailing off Sydney Heads for our guys,” he said.
Aussie sailors have been preparing for a variety of conditions while in Japan with all-rounders tipped to take the medals in Enoshima.
‘We are incredibly excited’: Next Gen rugby 7s women turning heads
There were blowouts, close calls, a hot boot and multiple try-fectas in the opening round of the Next Gen Sevens rugby series in Sydney. Stars, great photos and Rd 1 result wrap.
Lions team bus delivers Ian Healy painful Gabba reality check
With the 2032 Brisbane Olympics approaching rapidly, Australian cricket great Ian Healy was left with a wry smile as the Brisbane Lions rolled into the AFL grand final at the MCG.