Swede wins sailing bronze despite protest
Swedish sailor Rasmus Myrgren's bronze medal win was tainted on Monday afternoon as a complaint about his boat threatened to see him being stripped of the medal.
The equipment inspection committee had filed the complaint against Myrgren’s boat prior to the race, which according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper could potentially have lead to a warning, point deduction, or a disqualification.
After an hour's deliberation, Mygren was only deducted one point which enabled him to safely take home the bronze - Sweden's fifth medal in the games so far.
The protest was filed after the committee had inspected the mast of Mygren's laser boat.
“The mast on a laser is divided into two parts. This means that the mast almost always bends a bit after a while. The sailors bend it back with their hands, and despite the rules saying that the mast must stand straight, it’s still forbidden,” said Stefan Rahm of the Swedish Sailing Federation (Svenska Seglarförbundet) to the TT news agency.
However, Rahm explained that bending the mast on a laser sail boat is not uncommon among racers.
“Everybody does it. The problem for Rasmus is that he did it when the boats were in the so called quarantine zone before the race so several people saw it,” he said.
The race was won by 27-year-old Australian Tom Slingsby with Cypriot Pavlos Kontides taking the silver.
The Local/og
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The equipment inspection committee had filed the complaint against Myrgren’s boat prior to the race, which according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper could potentially have lead to a warning, point deduction, or a disqualification.
After an hour's deliberation, Mygren was only deducted one point which enabled him to safely take home the bronze - Sweden's fifth medal in the games so far.
The protest was filed after the committee had inspected the mast of Mygren's laser boat.
“The mast on a laser is divided into two parts. This means that the mast almost always bends a bit after a while. The sailors bend it back with their hands, and despite the rules saying that the mast must stand straight, it’s still forbidden,” said Stefan Rahm of the Swedish Sailing Federation (Svenska Seglarförbundet) to the TT news agency.
However, Rahm explained that bending the mast on a laser sail boat is not uncommon among racers.
“Everybody does it. The problem for Rasmus is that he did it when the boats were in the so called quarantine zone before the race so several people saw it,” he said.
The race was won by 27-year-old Australian Tom Slingsby with Cypriot Pavlos Kontides taking the silver.
The Local/og
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