Goudhurst’s Freya Black and sailing partner Saskia Tidey were not exactly where they wanted to be after the first day on the water in the Marseille Marina on Sunday – but the duo did enough to stay in Olympic contention in the 49erFX.
In tricky conditions with incredibly light winds, Black and Tidey opened up the regatta with a ninth-place finish in their first race, before following that up by finishing 16th.
They then came home in eighth in the last race of the day, to sit in 10th spot overall with Dutch favourites Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz leading the way ahead of Monday’s action.
For Black, who is getting her first taste of this biggest stage, the first challenge was to overcome the nerves of an Olympic debut.
She said: “There were definitely a lot of nerves. It was so nice seeing friends and family on the shoreline giving us a little boost of energy. The nerves were there but [I’m] just excited to get going.
“It was a really light day out there for us. It was quite difficult to know what was going on in the first two races. We just wanted to try and put a solid scoreline together. The regatta has begun and we’re ready to fight!
“It’s good just to get the first day out of the way. I think we’re still in the fight and we’ve not lost it and that’s exactly what we needed for day one.”
Black is competing alongside Tidey, who is competing in her third Olympics, having represented Ireland in Rio in 2016, before switching to Team GB for Tokyo by virtue of her British-born father Don.
She and Black booked their place at these Games with a fifth-place finish at the World Championships last year, and while this was not exactly the start she was hoping for, she is confident that they can bounce back regardless of the wind conditions.
Tidey said: “Day one, we were just trying to get stuck into it. I think everyone’s a bit nervous and excited at the same time.
“It was really hard racing, really light so we just wanted a solid scoreline and, yes, there’s a few more points than what we wanted but we’re still in the fight and we’re looking forward to the rest of the week.
“We’re a pretty all-round team. We don’t prefer one condition to another so today was probably about getting off the start line and trying to smuggle your way through the fleet. There were plenty of opportunities to catch up.”
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