Two brothers, one Olympic Laser berth

Melbourne, Australia. Feb 15,2020:

The penultimate day of the ILCA Laser Standard Men’s World Championship has dawned grey and rainy, but race director Peter Merritt is optimistic that three races can be sailed in “ideal” winds.

“The forecast is for southerlies of 15 to 20 knots, which is ideal here,” he said this morning. “There is a chance of even stronger winds at around 5 o’clock but we should be off the water by then.”

Yesterday’s racing was cancelled when a series of thunderstorms swept across Port Phillip Bay, bringing lightning and thunder, along with winds from all points of the compass.

With six races in the finals series still to be held, three races are scheduled for today (Saturday) and three for the final day tomorrow.

After six races of qualifying, Phillip Buhl (GER) leads the regatta with a score of 5 points after discarding a 4th placing in the opening race of the regatta. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) is two points further back, with Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) in third. Only 15 points separates first from tenth, ensuring interesting racing for the remainder of the Championship.

While international interest will be on the top three places, in Hungary there is another battle of intense interest. Rio Olympian Benjamin Vadnai has qualified his country for the Tokyo 2020 Games but needs to beat his younger brother Jonatan to secure his place on the Hungarian team.

Laser coach and broadcaster Jon Emmett caught up with the two brothers yesterday and recorded this video interview.

Results can be found at http://sailingresults.net/?ID=80326

– Roger McMillan

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