Saskia misses out on Olympic medal (From Gazette)

Saskia misses out on Olympic medal

10:01am Tuesday 19th August 2008 in Sailing By Simon Spurgeon

Mersea sailor Saskia Clark ended her Olympic adventure with a sixth-place finish in the women’s 470 Class at the Beijing Games.

A fourth place in the final medal race pushed the 28-year-old West Mersea Yacht Club member up three positions in the overall standing from where she and skipper Christina Bassadone had stood heading into the last event, but it wasn’t enough to earn them a medal spot.

It was Clark’s first taste of Olympic action and she and Bassadone had an uphill task to recovery from the early setback of a disqualification in their first race, after they were judged to have impeded the Slovenian boat at a turning mark.

The British pair had headed into the competition ranked fourth in the world and had high hopes for a medal. However, they paid for inconsistent form during the regular ten-race series, which was blighted by frustrating wind conditions and were never really in contention for a podium spot at the end.

Just two top-three finishes left them well short of the battle at the summit of the leaderboard and always trying to play catch-up to their rivals.

However, Clark’s sister, Barbara Dafforn, said: “We’re so very, very proud of her. We think she’s done fantastically.

“It may be second time round for Christina but it’s only Saskia’s first time at the Olympics – watch this space.

“Her campaign has touched so many people and inspired them. It’s quite remarkable.”

Nick Glanvill, commodore of West Mersea Yacht Club, added: “To compete on behalf of your country is an extraordinary achievement in itself.

“I’m sure I speak on behalf of all our members when saying that we are intensely proud of Saskia and Christina and look forward to their return.”

In the medal race, Clark and Bassadone turned at the first mark in fifth place out of the ten boats contesting the final, 24 seconds adrift of the leaders Nike Kornecki and Vered Buskila of Israel.

However, the British duo then moved up a place to turn fourth at the second mark, a position they held throughout the remainder of the race, finishing 43 seconds behind the eventual winners, Brazil’s Fernanda Oliveira and Isabel Swan.

The result secured the bronze medal for the South American pairing, but there was no change in the overall standings for the top two, who had led the way throughout the regatta.

Despite a ninth-place in the medal race, Australia’s Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson took gold with 43 points and Holland’s Marcelien De Koning and Lobke Berkhout secured the silver medal with a fifth place finish in the final event, ending ten points behind the Australians in the overall standings.