Nevertheless, in both the 470 and Star classes the relative calm made things difficult for athletes: proof for this is the fact that the two races finished late in the afternoon instead of much earlier, which would have been the case had the wind been more compliant. Both races in the 470 and Star classes, and one each (instead of two) in the Finn and Yngling classes, were run after a great deal of difficulty.

In the Women’s 470 class, today’s first race (7th overall) developed into a ‘two-women show’, as both Petijean and Douroux of France started off very well, took the lead since the start of the race and maintained it to the very end. The Russian craft finished behind the two French women (with a time lag of 2 minutes and 20 seconds), followed by the Canadian craft (time lag: -2:42). Greek Champions Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa finished in fifth place (time lag: -3:45). The ones who made the best use of the weak winds in the second race were Sesto and Reinoso from Argentina, who led from the very start and finished first. The Danish craft finished second and the French craft, which had won the first race of the day, finished third. Greeks Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa were greatly hampered by the calm, and had to make do with 11th place, trailing behind Sesto-Reinoso by 5 minutes and 43 seconds.

General standing after eight races:

	Name	NOC	7	8	Points
1	BEKATOROU-TSOULFA	GRE	5	11	33
2	PETITJEAN-DOUROUX	FRA	1	3	40
3	WARD S.-WARD M.	DEN	14	2	46
4	ILIENKO-GAPONOVICH	RUS	2	6	59
5	SESTO-REINOSO	ARG	17	1	61
6	McDOWELL-KINSOLVING	USA	8	8	66
7	ARMSTRONG-STOWELL	AUS	4	18	69
8	BASSADONE-HOPSON	GBR	9	15	69

In the Men’s 470 class, the 7th race was dominated by the Danish craft, which took the lead from the start and maintained it all the way to the finish. A battle ensued for second place between three craft from Slovenia, the Ukraine and Sweden, who crossed the finish line in that order and with the slightest differences in their times. The Greek craft with Andreas Kosmatopoulos and Costas Trigonis started relatively well, was the 13th to cross the first marker, trailing behind the lead craft by 2 minutes and 11 seconds behind the lead craft, but then fell behind and finished in 25th place, trailing behind the Danish craft by 9 minutes and 59 seconds. The second race proved eventful, as the calm made things difficult for athletes, and it is characteristic that it was finally judged that only four craft finished properly, as seven were penalised for false starts and the remaining 19, among which were the Greek and the Swedish craft, which currently holds the lead in the general standing, finished trailing behind the leader by more than 20 minutes and thus were not considered to have finished and were each penalised with 31 penalty points. For the record, victory in this ‘crazy’ race went to Argentina’s craft, followed by the American and the Slovenian craft. Kosmatopoulos-Trigonis are now 15th in the general standing with 101 penalty points.

General standing after eight races:

	Name	NOC	7	8	Points
1	MOLUND-ANDERSSON	SWE	4	31	49
2	FOERSTER-BURNHAM	USA	9	2	53
3	ROGERS-GLANFIELD	GBR	11	31	55
4	ZELLMER-KRABBE	GER	14	31	58
5	KLIGER-GAL	ISR	24	31	65
6	ZANDONA-TRANI	ITA	10	4	65
7	HMELJAK-NEVENCY	SLO	2	3	67
8	MARINHO-NUNES	POR	16	31	73

In the Star class, Brazilians Grael and Ferreira, despite the fact that they had not taken the lead in the 7th race and were in 3rd place until they crossed the third marker, made an extended finish and managed to snatch first place from Spaniards Bermudez-Inglesias, who were in the lead for most of the race. Third place went to the craft from France while the Greek craft with Leonidas Pelekanakis and Giorgos Kontogouris finished 16th. In the second race, the Croatian craft came first, followed by the Canadian and British craft in second and third place respectively, while the Greek craft was charged with a false start and was penalised, ending 17th in general standing with 97 penalty points. It should be noted that first place was the best present possible for Croatia’s crew member Nicola Akrap, as today was his birthday and with his fellow athlete (Lovronic) managed to win their first victory in this Regatta.

General standing after eight races:

	Name	NOC	7	8	Points
1	GRAEL-FERREIRA	BRA	1	10	28
2	BROMBY-WHITE	BER	7	8	30
3	PICKEL-KOLB	GER	8	6	35
4	CAYARD-TRINTER	USA	15	7	37
5	KATS-MARTENS	NED	6	19	37
6	LOVROVIC-AKRAP	CRO	10	1	50
7	McDONALD-BJORN	CAN	4	2	51
8	PERCY-MITCHELL	GBR	5	3	55

In the Yngling class, where only one race was run, Greeks Katerina Giakoumidou, Eleni Dimitrakopoulou and Eftichia Mantzaraki were first to cross the finish line and win their first victory in the Athens 2003 Regatta. The Greek craft was the second to reach the first marker and the third to reach the second marker, but then shot ahead and managed to win first place at the finish, followed by the German craft with a difference of just one second! New Zealand’s craft finished third, trailing by 11 seconds behind the Greek athletes, who are now 11th in the general standing with 43 penalty points.

General standing after seven races:

	Name	NOC	7	Points
1	SWETT-TOUCHETTE-PURDY	USA	8	19
2	WAGNER-HOELL-LOCHBRUNNER	GER	2	26
3	ROBERTSON-AYTON-WEBB	GBR	4	26
4	TARAN-MATEVUSHEVA-KALININA	UKR	10	34
5	AZON-PISONERO-SANCHEZ	ESP	9	34
6	THIES-BES-de JONG	NED	6	34
7	JENSEN-JESPERSEN-KIEL	DEN	7	38
8	THORPE-VINSEN-LAMPERT	NZL	3	40

In the Finn class, today’s only race class developed into a Greek-Polish duel, as both Kusznierewicz and Emilios Papathanasiou, who had separated themselves from the pack after the sixth marker and finished well ahead of the others, fought passionately for victory. The race was finally won by the Pole, while Papathanasiou finished second with a difference of 50 seconds. Australia’s Nossiter finished third, trailing behind the winner by 4 minutes and 34 seconds.

General standing after seven races:

	Name	NOC	7	Points
1	AINSLIE	GBR	14	18
2	GODEFROID	BEL	5	32
3	KUSZNIEREWICZ	POL	1	34
4	TRUJILLO	ESP	9	36
5	KURET	CRO	6	40
6	PAPATHANASIOU	GRE	2	43
7	FLORENT	FRA	20	44
8	NOSSITER	AUS	3	49

Tomorrow, Monday 25/8, races are scheduled to take place in the Mistral (men and women), Europe, Laser, 49er, Tornado and Star classes, while athletes competing in the 470, Finn and Yngling classes will have the day off. However, after today’s postponement of the second races in the Finn and Yngling classes, and in order to recover the lost ground, one a race will be run in each of these categories. Aiolos willing, that is…

In any case, what matters is that more than 6 races – that is to say the minimum number of races required to declare a winner – have taken place in all the Athens 2003 Regatta classes.

NOTE: After protests have been judged, general standings may change in some classes.

Source: Event Press