Updated at 20.10
with reporting from Sinead O’Carroll
THE WOMEN’S LASER radial sailing medal race, involving Annalise Murphy, has been postponed until tomorrow due to too much wind on the course, following a spell of light winds saw the racing delayed earlier today.
Claudine Murphy, Annalise’s sister, admitted it was disappointing to see the racing postponed, particularly as the windy conditions would have suited her sibling.
“She’ll be fine,” Claudine Murphy said after the decision to postpone the racing until tomorrow.
“This is what we’re training for. This happens all the time. Obviously there’s more pressure because it’s the Games.
“It’s a shame because she could have destroyed them all there.”
Annalise’s brother Finn was due to fly back to Ireland tomorrow and is now desperately trying to change his flights so that he can see his sister race for an Olympic medal.
Earlier in the day a lack of wind at Marina da Gloria forced organisers to postpone proceedings after the sailors were due to launch at 5.05pm Irish time.
And after waiting so long for some kind of wind, eventually it arrived but it arrived in spades with readings of 38 knots being recorded.
If the speed of the wind had been around 28 or 30 knots the race would likely have gone ahead but the conditions were deemed unsafe for racing.
Much like four years ago, Murphy enters the medal race after a superb week of sailing and as one of five boats harbouring hopes of finishing on the podium.
The Dubliner begins the race in third on 57 points (the total of her nine best-placed finishes in the preliminary races) with Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands leading on 47 points, while Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom is in second place, just two points ahead of Murphy.
The 26-year-old’s nearest rival for bronze is Belgium’s Evi van Acker.
The delay also means frustration for Ireland’s 49er crews of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern and Saskia Tidey and Andrea Brewster.
Murphy must now prepare herself for a huge day of sailing tomorrow which is the last reserve day for the event.
That means if no sailing can be done tomorrow the results would stand as they are, meaning Murphy would win bronze.
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