Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris lead the 470 World Championship in Enoshima heading into the Medal Series, after three Gold Fleet races on the penultimate day of competition.
The British pair won the opening race of the day, then settled for finishes around tenth in the next two. That was enough to hold top spot overall.
Spain's Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona sit second. Jordi was measured about what lies ahead. "It has been quite a challenging day in terms of the weather, tactics and strategy, but we did a good job and had three pretty good races," he said. "We're not particularly close on points, but we have two races ahead of us, unlike before when we only had one, so it's important to stay focused and try to give it everything tomorrow."
Third are home sailors Tetsuya Isozaki and Yurie Seki. They had a strong day but were called over early at the start and scored a BFD.
Germany's Theresa Loffler and Christopher Hoerr hold fourth. Starts plagued them for most of the day, though the final race came together. "It was very difficult, very unpredictable," Theresa said. "We struggled a bit with the starts in most of the races, except for the last one, where we had a really good start. Then racing was a bit easier, and we managed to be in the front group already at the windward mark. It's always easier when you're already in front."
Christopher, meanwhile, hadn't yet checked the standings. "I think that will be important for tomorrow's racing," he said. "I think I'm generally very positive-minded, trying to get the best out of it, while not being under big pressure."
Fifth is Greece's Afrodite Zegers-de Kleine and George Kavvas, a pairing formed just two months ago. Kavvas has returned to sailing after a 14-year break. Zegers-de Kleine knows these waters well, having finished tenth at the Tokyo Olympics.
Her path back to the top wasn't simple. Four knee surgeries. A lot of sacrifice. "For us, we just enjoy the ride," she said, though the competitive edge is clearly intact. "I'm extremely competitive. I'm a bit grumpy after the third race because we could easily be a few boats ahead. But in general, we learned in every race. The first day, we had some good moments and some mistakes. The second day, the same. By evaluating, I think during the whole week we became a better team together."
The ten boats that made the cut will contest the Medal Series. Two races are scheduled, with the first warning signal possible from 0900 local time.
