Things didn’t quite click for the New Zealand windsurfers on the final day of their competition off Marseille.
Josh Armit, who sailed so consistently to finish third in the long qualifying series, could only finish third in the semi-final race.
With the qualifying series winner, Australian Grae Morris, already through to the final, Armit was pushed down to fourth place overall, tantalisingly close to a medal.
The 22-year-old Amit was fourth for much of the semi-final, climbed into third just before the halfway point, but was unable to make further progress.
“I didn’t make the best start and it’s hard to come back from that,” he said. “It’s tough to take, after all that’s gone on this week.”
The New Zealander, who finished seventh in last year’s world champs, enhanced his reputation with his consistency over the long and challenging event.
Veerle ten Have, the New Zealand women’s windsurfer, squeaked into the quarter-final race after finishing ninth in the qualifying series.
She was always struggling in the quarter-final. Needing a win to advance to the semi-final, ten Have, 23, was fourth after two marks, but then slipped to the tail of the field and was unable to pick up any placings over the final stretch. She finished 10th overall.
Ten Have felt she made a wrong judgement call early in the quarter-final race, which resulted in her having to fight her way back through the entire race and left her on the back foot.
She said she was proud to have represented New Zealand at the Olympics, but that today’s result was not what she wanted.
In the men’s dinghy today, Tom Saunders had placings of 19 and 3 to leave himself in 5th place overall with 48 points. The leader is Australian Matt Wearn on 40, so it’s a tight leaderboard.
Greta Pilkington continued to battle in the women’s dinghy, but improved marginally with placings today of 15, 33, 18. She has 121 points, which leaves her 30th. The women’s leader is Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands, with just 12 points.
In the mixed multihull (Nacra), New Zealand’s Mica Wilkinson and Erica Dawson placed 5, 3 and 7 to be fourth in this early stage of the regatta.