10 Aug 2012

Sailing events postponed at windless Weymouth

10:22 pm on 10 August 2012

Sailing events at the Olympic Games were postponed on Thursday due to a lack of wind.

The men's 470 medal race has been rescheduled for Friday, as well as the women's 470 and match racing semifinals.

However, this could change, as light winds are again forecast at Weymouth.

New Zealanders Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders have an outside chance of a bronze medal in the 470 category following success on the water in the 49er class.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal on Wednesday, taking silver.

The 470 crew of Snow-Hansen and Saunders will start their medal race in 5th place behind crews from Italy and Argentina.

Their best hope is third - but to get there they will need to finish in the top two and hope that Argentina finish last and Italy in the bottom three.

While a bronze medal seems an unlikely outcome, Yachting New Zealand's high performance manager Jez Fanstone says conditions are suitable for the New Zealanders.

The final New Zealand sailing effort will come from Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, who are scheduled to race for a gold medal in the 470 class on Friday.

Coach Nathan Handley says the gold is theirs if they beat Great Britain.

He expects the race to be a dogfight - but going hard and fast also comes with risks and they will have to be careful not to incur too many penalties.