London, England – The British pair of Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson jumped into the lead of the Star class Monday at the Olympic sailing competition.
The duo finished third and second in the two races held Monday to rebound from a sub-par opening day. The defending gold medalists, Percy and Simpson have 18 points after four races -- the same as the second-place boat from Norway.
They are in good position with six races to go. Most of the sailing events in the Olympics are, like the Star (keelboat), fleet races. Each boat participates in 10 races, where points are awarded in ascending order -- 1 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, and so on. After the 10 races, the 10 best boats advance to the medal race.
In men's Finn (heavyweight one-person dinghy), Denmark's Jonas Hogh- Christensen turned in two more strong performances. He had won the first two races Sunday, and came in second and seventh Monday to remain atop those standings with 11 points.
France's Jonathan Lobert is in second place with 19 points, while Great Britain's Ben Ainslie -- the two-time defending gold medalist -- is third with 22. American Zach Railey, the silver medalist in '08, is currently in 13th place.
In the women's Elliott 6-meter match racing -- a new sailing event comprised of 12 crews -- Australia defeated the United States and Great Britain to improve to 4-0 in the round robin stage. Russia also moved to 4-0, while the Americans lost twice.
Three other classes held their first two races Monday -- the men's Laser (one- person dinghy), the men's 49er (skiff), and women's Laser Radial (one-person dinghy).
Ireland's Annalise Murphy used two victories to take charge of the Laser Radial. She finished 25th at the world championships this year.
Australian Tom Slingsby, the reigning world champion, is atop the standings in the Laser competition. He finished 2nd and 1st in Monday's races.
The Danish team of Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang took the lead in 49er.
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