On Wednesday, the sailors Sinem Kurtbay and Akseli Keskinen representing Finland in the Nacra 17 class secured a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Riku Porvari,
Riikka Smolander-Slotte
Finnish Nacra 17 class sailors Sinem Kurtbay and Central axis secured a spot for next summer’s Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
The boat is in 10th place at the World Championships in Holland before Thursday’s medal start. The nine best boats of the World Championships get a spot. There are three Italian teams ahead of the Finnish duo, so Finland secured an Olympic place before the medal start.
Kurtbay describes feeling relieved. He says that he is aiming for an Olympic place for the third time.
– The first time we didn’t get a place, and the second time it came last. Now it was nice to get it on the first try, Kurbay tells Urheilu.
– We didn’t make it easy for ourselves when there were crashes and two penalty rounds today (Wednesday). Also, bad decisions and whatever. Fortunately, we got a place and of course we are very happy with that, he continues.
Last season, Kurbay and Keskinen won European Championship silver and World Championship bronze, and therefore expectations were high this year as well. At the start of Thursday, getting to the medals seems difficult at the moment, says Kurtbay.
– However, the main goal was securing the land. Definitely disappointed that we didn’t sail as well as we could have. The top ten has no direction but up. It can be pulled quite calmly and at full speed – let’s see where it takes.
He also assessed why the boat crew had problems at the World Championships in Holland. According to Kurtbay, among other things, they did not practice enough on the spot.
– We trained for three days in conditions that were completely different from this week. In addition, I had a fever right before the Games. Our main races of the season, the preliminary races and the World Championships, were really close to each other, and we didn’t have much time to relax between them. I think that played a part as well.
There is also another country nearby
49er FX class Ronja Grönblom and Veera Hokka finished in 11th place in the overall competition, and thus will not compete in the top ten medal start on Thursday.
Grönblom’s and Hokank’s place at the Olympics is close, as there are two Norwegian teams ahead of them. This way, Finland would claim the last place.
Their Olympic place will also be secured if the protests do not bring changes. A protest was made against the Finns for the theft, and it can take several hours to process it. Finland has made a counter-protest.