Finland’s 49erFX duo Ronja Grönblom-Veera Hokka were heavily disappointed at the World Sailing Championships in The Hague. Finland’s counter-protest was rejected and Finland was the last country without a place in the Paris Olympics.
Finland’s 49erFX duo Ronja Grönblom-Veera Hokka missed out on a place in the Olympic Games at the World Sailing Championships in The Hague.
Yesterday, the Finns sailed the last three race starts before the medal start, after which they were stuck in the last land position for next year’s Olympic Games. Their ranking was eleventh in the final results and tenth in the competition between the countries. The top ten in the 49FX class claimed ground.
Immediately after the race, the Italians filed a protest against Finland, which did not warrant further processing. A couple of hours after crossing the finish line, the results changed when the first start of the day was changed to a stolen start for Finland and many other countries.
Due to this situation, the Finnish team prepared a protest against the competition board’s decision. The official of the competition board was not sure during the protest hearing whether the Finnish boat had crossed the starting line. The officer in charge of the departing boat had registered over Finland, but did not participate in the protest hearing.
Also according to the competition data, Finland was 1.1 meters below the starting line, but according to the tolerances of the tracker, it cannot be used alone to change the decision.
See a picture of the situation below.
According to Finland’s view, the other boats were well over the starting line, but Grönblom-Hokka was on the line. Australia didn’t get a steal and neither did Denmark. This decision moved Denmark from sixteenth to tenth place, taking them past Finland in the battle for place. Finland will no longer make further complaints about the situation.
Finland was eleventh in the competition and the same place was also the fate in the competition between the countries. The top ten claimed a place in the Olympic Games in Paris. The sailing regatta is contested in Marseille.
The next time Grönblom and Hokka will aim for a place in the 49FX class European Championships in Portugal in October. There is only one place in the division. In April 2024, the Last Chance regatta will be contested, where there are three or four places.