Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics - 49er class

The 49er class sailing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place between August 10 and 17 in Qingdao, at the Qingdao International Marina. 19 teams of two sailors each competed in this 49er dinghy competition. A total of 16 races were scheduled but 3 were cancelled due to the weather.

Points were assigned based on the finishing position in each race (1 for first, 2 for second, etc.). The points were totaled from the top 11 results of the first 12 races, with lower totals being better. If a pair was disqualified or did not complete the race, 20 points were assigned for that race (one more than the number of boats). The top 10 pairs then competed in the final race (called the medal race), with placings counting double for that race. The team with the lowest total score won.

Medalists

Danish controversy

The Danish team of Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen, who won the gold medal, almost failed to qualify for the Medal race, when their mast split just before the start. The Croatian team who had not made the final race, donated their boat to the Danish team to use in the final and they subsequently went on to win Gold. The Spanish team filed a protest against the win due to the boat change, but the protest was dismissed and the race results stand. The protest has been promoted to the International Olympic Committee but was even dismissed. A third protest has been promoted by Italy and Spain to CAS, which also has been dismissed. [http://ol.tv2.dk/article.php/id-14600778.html]

Results

The competition took place between August 10 and 17, when the medal race (denoted with M) was contested between the ten crews that garnered the least points in the previous races.

Notes

Scoring abbreviations are defined as follows:
*OCS – On the Course Side of the starting line
*DSQ – Disqualified
*DNF – Did Not Finish
*DNS – Did Not Start
*CAN – Cancelled race

References

* [http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/sailing/n214558592.shtml Denmark wins 49er gold in eventful final] at Beijing 2008 official website
* [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/SA.shtml Schedules & Results, Sailing] at Beijing 2008 official website