Greta Pilkington's bid for an ILCA 6 World Championship medal is over. The Auckland sailor missed the top-10 cut for the final series in Dublin Bay by a single, agonising place.
Pilkington had climbed to fifth overall on the penultimate day of gold-fleet racing, putting her within touching distance of a maiden world championship medal. But her form deserted her when it mattered most.
In the fleet's only completed race overnight, she finished 39th, dropping to 11th overall, one spot outside the top 10 who advance to the medal showdown.
There is still a chance, of sorts. Pilkington will get one final opportunity to lock in 11th overall when the remaining sailors complete one more elimination series race.
It caps a frustrating finish to an otherwise excellent regatta. Pilkington, who made her Olympic debut in Marseille in 2024, had arguably produced her best international performance to date at these Worlds.
Five consecutive top-10 finishes through qualification set her up nicely. An outstanding second day in the gold fleet then pushed her into fifth overall, right in the mix with the leaders.
Dublin Bay had other ideas. The wind proved notoriously fickle, and the gold fleet managed just one race on the day that mattered.
Racing got underway in 6-9 knots and flat water, before the breeze died away and shifted direction, forcing a postponement of more than three hours. A second race did get started later but was abandoned when the wind fell away to around one knot.
British sailor Matilda Nicholls made the most of the solitary race, winning it to jump from 10th to fifth overall. Reigning champion Louise Cervera pulled off the standout move of the day, climbing from 18th into the top 10 with a fourth-place finish.
That top 10 will now contest the final series for the medals, with points halved heading into a two-race shootout. For Pilkington, it means watching from the outside, one place and one race away from the podium picture she had briefly glimpsed.
