MARSEILLE, France, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti of Italy ended the opening series of mixed multihull (Nacra 17) with a strong second finish in the last race on Tuesday, guaranteeing themselves at least a silver medal.
The Italian pair started the day on the wrong foot, being disqualified from race ten due to an early start. However, they recovered and finished the day with a strong second, putting them 14 points clear at the top of the Nacra 17 rankings.
Argentina's Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco cemented their status as the primary challengers with first in race ten and second in race 11, meaning they are the only crew that can tip Italy to gold.
Britain's John Gimson and Anna Burnet moved up to third with a brilliant performance on the water that culminated in a race win. They can take nothing for granted, as they sit level on points with New Zealand's Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson.
"There's not going to be a match race, we are going to try and do our race, control the situation based on the points we have. Second, third and fourth are going to have a big battle and we're going to try and stay out of that and do our race and control the advantage that we have," Tita said.
In mixed dinghy (470) event, Austria's Lara Vadlau and Lukas Maehr ended the Opening Series with a surge to top of the standings. The duo picked up a fifth and second on the water to head into the Medal Race with a seven-point advantage.
Spain's Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman remained in second after placing third in race seven. Japan's Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka opened the day with ninth in race seven, but recovered in race eight to cross the line third, putting them four points off Spain.
"We have to sail smart tomorrow. We have almost no advantage. We are here to win a medal, this was our goal from the beginning and now we are in a really good position. It all depends on tomorrow," Vadlau said. ■
