Sailing Talk Podcast - Olympic Medal Predictions #3

At the start of the London 2012 Olympic regatta in Weymouth and Portland, Andy and Justin continue their look at the likely medal contenders in the 49er class and men and women's RS:X windsurfing....

In the first of three Olympic preview podcasts, Justin phones Andy from the London 2012 Olympic regatta venue in Weymouth and Portland, UK, to mull over the medal hopes in the Finn, Star, Laser men and women’s Laser Radial classes.

Australia became the most successful sailing nation at the Olympic Regatta after Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page secured gold ahead of GBR in the men's 470. Then it was New Zealand's turn for gold, Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie winning the medal race of the women's 470, with Britain's Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark having to settle for silver, with the Dutch team taking bronze. The Olympic Regatta is nearly over, bar the women's match racing, as Justin and Andy look back at today's light-wind drama....

Sailing never gets any coverage in the national newspapers, particularly not a tabloid 'red top' paper like The Sun. But with Justin away with his bucket and spade on Weymouth beach, Andy asks The Sun's reporter Bob Harris why Olympic sailing has finally caught the imagination of the general public. Listen out too for Kate Laven of The Daily Telegraph who gatecrashes the interview....

The Danes won a tense battle for bronze in the 49er Medal Race in the lightest winds yet seen in Weymouth since the start of the Olympic Regatta. Justin and Andy discuss the 49er race, the match race that's in store between GB and NZ in the women's 470 a couple of days from now, and the failure of the USA to win a single medal at this Olympiad. The winner of the most sailing medals in the history of the modern Games, the last American hope vanished with the surprise exit of Anna Tunnicliffe's match racing team at the quarter final stage....

Controversy surrounded the Medal Races for the RS-X windsurfing today, and no, it wasn’t the presence of British prime minister David Cameron. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka had won the bronze medal but then found herself being protested by the Ukrainian sailor - for the most bizarre of reasons. Questions too about the Australian 49er. Justin and Andy dig behind the headlines in Weymouth....

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, makes a royal visit to Weymouth today and feels the weight of Ben Ainslie’s golden gong. But it was Ben’s girlfriend Marit Bouwmeester who was in the thick of the action in a humdinger of a medal race to decide the Radials, while Tom Slingsby won Australia’s first gold of the regatta, although there are others on the way....

Never given to exaggeration, Justin and Andy hesitate to use the word 'historic'. But if you're not going to use it today, the day Ben Ainslie became the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time, when are you going to use it?

Today a new national hero emerged, a loser from China earns a shot at redemption, an Olympic Champion saw hope of any medal evaporate, and we have four women - none of whom have won an Olympic medal - level pegging in the Radial fleet. On Monday, three of them will stand on the podium, and one will be left with nothing. All of this discussed by Andy and Justin on today’s podcast from Weymouth....

After the bad blood of yesterday’s racing in the Finn, with the ‘did or didn’t Ben hit the mark?’ allegations, it was back to racing fair and square. Justin and Andy look at yet another dramatic day between Ben Ainslie and Jonas Hoegh Christensen, who now go into the Medal Race on level terms....

The battle for supremacy in the Finn is turning into a grudge match between Ben Ainslie and Jonas Hoegh Christensen. Suffice it to say they won't be sending each other presents this Christmas. Justin and Andy look at the Finn battle, and at a day that saw Team GB firing on all cylinders....

With Andy gone AWOL to the Olympic Park in London for a day, Justin has to update him on two days of drama back in Weymouth. Much to discuss - capsizing in the 49er, Irish domination in the Radial, Cypriot success in the Laser, and the underdog Ben Ainslie. Underdog???!