Sorry for being quiet the last few days. I'm sure many of you have been on the same rollercoaster that Christina and I have been on as our team mates win more medals and others of us don't quite make it.
Going into the medal race, mathmatically it was possible to win the bronze. We had to win with the Brazilians in 9th or 10th and the Israelis in 7th or worse. Racing close into the wall in an offshore breeze it was more than possible and catching glimpses of Nick and Joe's race as we were preparing we knew it was going to be a fight to the end.
We set up for a port end flyer but in the closing minute decided that the wind was holding well out to the right so made the choice to duck the fleet and get to the best wind immediately. So for the first quarter of the beat we were looking glamour especially as the Brazilians and Isrealis were wide on the left and pretty much becalmed. Well unfortunately we all know the ending! The breeze came in from the left and the Brazilians and Isrealis crossed in 1st and 2nd. For the 2nd beat the wind had gone left so there was a long port, giving little opportunity for place changing.
A 4th in the race was good enough to leap frog some of our closer rivals and so we have finished the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in 6th place.
How does it feel...? Honestly gutting. We came here feeling confident that we had made enough inroads into our speed that we were fast enough to win, which was something that was definitely not true this time last year. The Australians thorougly deserve their gold medal, they were consistently in the right place at the right time to capitalise on the opportunities in what is a tricky and difficult place to sail. And I guess if they were in the right place it means that we weren't!
What for the future? Being part of Team Bassadone Clark has been an amazing journey and one that I'm sure for both of us is not complete...!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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Hi Saskia and Christina - Brendan Law here, Head of Westbourne House School. Reading your comments, I know that you are both feeling disappointed at this stage but on behalf of us all I want you to know that we are very proud of you. You are great ambassadors for the sport and the children here have learned a great deal from your ambition, determination and positive attitude. Hopefully you will come back to tell us about your experiences but for now we hope that you can enjoy the final few days and the fantastic team effort of which you have been a part. Well done!
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