Benjamin Bildstein and David Hussl made it into the 49er gold fleet at the Sailing World Championships in Halifax (Canada). The two will start the final series on Saturday from fifth place. “The wind was really crazy. It was offshore, incredibly inconsistent, and very difficult to read. But it’s the same for everyone – and that’s why we’re quite happy with the result,” explained crewman David Hussl after the third day. The two former world number ones ranked 11th, 12th, 2nd and 13th.
“We finished all races solidly and also had a very good race. All in all, we have created a good starting position for the start in the gold fleet. Now it’s time to go home, freak out again, recharge the batteries and then do everything against the top 25,” added the Tyrolean. The deficit of the Olympic tenth to the bronze medal is 13 points before the seven races of the Final Series. However, Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger ended qualifying in 34th place and have to continue their fight for the title in the silver fleet.
Nacra 17 teams continue to struggle
The two red-white-red Nacra 17 teams didn’t get up to speed on the third day either. Both Laura Farese/Matthäus Zöchling and Lukas Haberl/Tanja Frank have lost places in the overall standings and are in 20th and 24th place respectively.