Boston College At The Olympics: Haegar and Provancha in Fourth at Halfway Point

Through its first full week of competition, the 2016 Summer Olympics have had more than their fill of memories created. There are lasting images, memories, and glints of gold, silver, and bronze for countries both accustomed to dominance and new to the championship scene.

Boston College alumni Annie Haegar and Briana Provancha are halfway through their 10 race competition in 470 sailing, having completed five of the 10 races that make up the competition. In a race for a medal, the duo are knocking on the podium’s door, currently tied for fourth place with Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol of Slovenia.

Haegar and Provancha started slow in the event, finishing 7th in the first race and 10th in the third, though a third place finish in the second race kept them afloat in the competition. But they ripped off a second place and fifth place finish in Race 4 and Race 5 to pull back within striking distance of the podum.

Great Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark currently are in the lead with 12 points, with Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka tied for the silver medal with France’s Camille Lecointre and Helene Defrance. Both teams have 15 points.

Sailing utilizes a low-point scoring system, meaning first place earns one point, second place earns two, etc. If a team is disqualified or fails to finish a race, they are automatically awarded one more point than the total number of competitiors. That said, teams discard the worst score earned.

Races 6, 7, and 8 will kick off today at 12:05, 1:30, and 2:55, respectively, with the final two races tomorrow at 12:15 and 1:40.

The top 10 teams at the end of the 10th race earn spots in the Medal Race, which will be contested on Wednesday, August 17th. Points in the Medal Race are doubled and added to existing scores, at which point awards are determined for gold, silver, and bronze.