Clark battles for Olympic berth in Perth
It’s looking like a real horse race in the waters off Perth, Australia for Shelter Island’s hometown favorite.
After six of 11 races slated this week, Shelter Island’s 2008 sailing Olympian Amanda Clark and her crew Sarah Lihan slipped behind their American competitors on Wednesday. Their showdown will settle who will represent the U.S. in the women’s 470 two-person dinghy class at the 2012 summer Olympics in England.
The Clark-Lihan team stood in 16th place Wednesday, two spots behind Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar, who were ranked 14th among 47 boats from around the world competing in the 470 class at the ISAF World Sailing Championships.
After two good days on the water Monday and Tuesday, beating their American competition in three of four races, Clark-Lihan struggled to a 33rd-place finish in race five on Wednesday morning while Maxwell-Kinsolving Farrar came in 5th. In race six, Clark-Lihan finished 27th to Maxwell-Kinsolving Farrar’s 12th.
The winner of the US Olympic team spot in the women’s 470 category will be the team with the lowest combined overall placement determined by the races being sailed in Perth and the previous Olympic trials that were held in June in Weymouth, England, where the 2012 Olympic races will be sailed.
Races seven and eight in Perth are scheduled for Thursday beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with a day off on Saturday. Races nine and 10 will start at 1:30 a.m. EST on Saturday followed by the final medal race on Sunday at 12:10 a.m. EST.
The news from Australia was spotty Wednesday morning. There were few news posts about the day’s 470 races and Ms. Clark had not updated her team Facebook page with any comments about Wednesday’s sailing.
Boats from Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Israel and Great Britain were leading the women’s 470 competition after Wednesday’s events.
The Clark-Lihan team had a good start in the competition Monday with 12th and 3rd place finishes for a 5th-place ranking. Maxwell-Kinsolving Farrar had a bad day and finished back in 27th place.
Tuesday’s competition kept Clark-Lihan ahead but Maxwell-Kinsolving Farrar, the number-one ranked women’s 470 team in the world, narrowed their gap. Clark-Lihan scored a 15-16 in Tuesday’s two races while Ms. Maxwell (of Wilton, Connecticut) and Ms. Kinsolving Farrar (of New York City and Fishers Island) finished 6-19 to climb to 19th overall.
Clark-Lihan lost their lead in the rankings with Wednesday’s racing.Ms. Clark and Ms. Lihan placed 11th overall in the first Olympic trials at Weymouth in June, behind Ms. Maxwell and Ms. Kinsolving Farrar, who finished 8th. In case of a tie in the combined standings after Perth results are included, the boat with the better finish in Australia will take the spot.
Races can be tracked at:
static.sportresult.com/federations/isaf/Sailing/raceviewer/index.php?v=25&id=503c9387-66e7-4773-ac45-90867ca9a8dd&event=82.
