Image: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Laser Radial sailor Ali Young has won bronze at the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima to take the British medal tally to three following yesterday’s gold and silver.

On the final day of medal racing in Japan, the story of the day was the lack of wind rather than the anticipated fight for medals for two-time Olympian Young.

The Men’s and Women’s 470 raced on the waters of Tokyo 2020 before the wind died and all racing was cancelled. As no racing could be completed the leaderboard remained unchanged from the end of fleet racing, and with it a bronze medal for Young.

“It’s nice to finish off the regatta with a medal but I was looking forward to doing the medal race to gain that experience. It’s a bit of an anti-climax to the week in a way, but I will take the third,” said Young, 32, from Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Picking up a bronze medal at the Laser Radial Worlds in Sakaiminato City before a fourth-place finish in the Olympic Test Event, it’s been a busy month for Young in Japan with two medals to show for her exploits.

“There have been lots of highlights from my time in Japan. Some on the water, some off it, but now I am looking forward to see where I can go from here.”

Also making the medal race in the Laser Radial was Lymington’s Hannah Snellgrove who finished seventh overall.

There was also no racing for the Laser fleet and Rio 2016 Olympian Nick Thompson who had to settle for a ninth place regatta finish.

“I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get the chance to race today. It was a bit light and tricky for racing but it would have been nice to do some light wind racing this regatta,” said Thompson, 33, from Lymington, Hampshire.

Reflecting on his World Cup Series Thompson said: “I’m semi pleased. The thing I’m pleased about is that I had good pace. Once we got to the windward mark from then on I was solid, but I’m a little bit annoyed with some of my starting and first upwinds. I was sailing too conservatively instead of really putting myself out there. But all in all a solid result and good to make the medal race.”

The British medal count started yesterday with Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface collecting silver in the Nacra 17 before what looked like an unlikely gold medal victory for James Peters and Fynn Sterritt in the 49er.

Starting the day down in fifth overall, Peters and Sterritt crossed the line second in their medal race, and with all their competitors falling around them, the pair climbed to the top of the standings to retain their World Cup Series Enoshima title.

The 2020 Hempel World Cup Series now heads to Miami, USA, for round two in January 2020 where the British Sailing Team will compete for more medal success.

Full results from the event can be found here.

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