Entering today’s final race in the 10-race series that comprises the Women’s 470 event, Boston College ‘12 alums Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha sit in third place, giving themselves an excellent shot at a medal.
In women's 470, there are 10 preliminary races, with a low score being the goal - you get one point for 1st, two for 2nd, etc. Out of the ten races, your worst performance is thrown out, so nine scores count. Haeger/Provancha have a total score of 49 points after the 10 preliminary races, thanks in large part to a pair of second-plae finishes during the middle of the competition.
While the Great Britain team of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark have dominated the event and are assured of gold, there is a logjam from second place on back to 5th going in to today’s medal race, where points are doubled.
The New Zealand team enters today in 2nd place with 48 points; Haeger/Provancha have 49; a French team sits right behind them with 50, and a Japanese crew sits in 5th at 52.
All this is a long-winded way of saying that a win in today’s final race would give the two BC alums a silver medal, while a top-2/3 finish could still keep silver in play as well depending on how things shake out. They also have an excellent chance at the bronze as long as they stay ahead of some of the rivals just behind them in the standings.
The women’s medal race goes off at 12:05 and you can watch it live on NBCOlympics.com; based on TV listings, it looks like MSNBC will televise the event at around 2 PM.