In the Laser Radial class of sailing, Emma Plasschaert will start the medal race with the best ten sailors in 5th place on Sunday. Will she be able to advance towards the medals in the final race? “Bronze is within reach and silver is still possible,” says Evi Van Acker.
Emma Plasschaert did not have a good day in sailing in the penultimate series of the Laser Radial-Class. But due to the lesser performance of her competitors, she still starts in 5th place in Sunday’s medal race.
According to Evi Van Acker, Plasschaert can look back on a strong week on the water. “If you look at the total number of points, she is in a tie for first place. That is, without a subtraction series.”
“The other toppers also sailed a race that was slightly less. This was mainly due to the changing weather conditions. You certainly don’t always have to sail in the top 5 to win a medal,” says Van Acker.
Van Acker himself won bronze in 2012 in London and saw that Plasschaert suffered from nerves in the beginning. “It is also her first Olympic Games and that is quite an overwhelm for her. As a sailor you are not used to being in the spotlight.”
Emma has grown tremendously throughout the event.
“Emma has grown enormously throughout the event. Day after day it got better and even after a lesser ninth heat she is still in good shape. She is very close in the standings. Bronze is within reach and silver is also possible,” says Van Acker.
“In addition, she finishes in the top 8 anyway. An Olympic diploma with her debut is already a great achievement.”
“Her competitors also had a bad day”
Plasschaert won the Olympic test event in Tokyo last year. Mentally, that can give a boost in the race for the medals, says Van Acker.
“Of course a lot has happened in the meantime, but she can absolutely have confidence. If everything goes well, a medal is certainly possible,” says Van Acker.
The competition will be quite tough on Sunday. The Danish Anne-Marie Rindom and the Dutch title defender Marit Bouwmeester are already at their third Olympic Games and therefore have sufficient experience. “But they also had a bad day in Tokyo,” says Van Acker.
We have everything to fight for and then we’ll see where we end up.
“The most important thing is that we have everything to fight for and then we’ll see where we end up. Plasschaert has gained a lot of experience here, that will only be good for the future. But of course we hope for the best result”, concludes Van Acker.
The Danish Rindom starts the medal race as the leader.
| program Emma Plasschaert | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| sunday july 25 | series 1 and 2 | 10th in 17th | report |
| Monday July 26 | series 3 and 4 | 11th and 8th | report |
| tuesday 27 july | series 5 and 6 | 6th and 5th | report |
| thursday 29 july | series 7 and 8 | 5th and 4th | report |
| Friday July 30 | series 9 and 10 | 17th and 21st | report |
| sunday 1 august | medal race | 8.33 у | |
| Interim score | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Anne-Marie Rindom (Den) | 64 points |
| 2. | Marit Bouwmeester (Ned) | 71 |
| 3. | Josefin Olsson (Two) | 79 |
| 4. | Sarah Douglas (Can) | 82 |
| 5 | Emma Plasschaert | 83 |
