Sailing event wraps up Olympics for Cayman team

(CNS): Cayman Islands sailor Charlotte Webster, competing in the Women’s Dinghy event at the Paris Olympics, finished in 41st place overall out of 43 competitors after Race 10 in the Opening Series was cancelled due to bad weather. The top-10 ranked boats now move on to the Medal Race, which means that Webster will not advance, and the Cayman Islands team has no more events in the Paris Games.

“To say that I’ve gone to the Olympics now is just so amazing,” Webster said. “It really is a dream come true for myself. I know that I’ve put in a lot of hard work to get where I am.

Her final day competing, like much of the week, was fraught with weather challenges. Race 9 of the Opening Series was abandoned and restarted later in the day. Race 10 was cancelled altogether.

Webster had been having one of her best days of racing before the disruptions. She was racing in the middle of the pack before Race 9 was abandoned and was up to fourth place in Race 10 before it was called off. She finished 37th in Race 9 once it was restarted.

“Today, I wanted to give it my all, and I did exactly that,” she said. “To race with the best girls in the world is an unreal experience. It’s just so amazing to see countries that you wouldn’t normally see out on the water racing against the countries that are winning the gold medals at all the events. It’s a global experience, and I felt the Olympic spirit, and I feel like this is something that I’ll never forget.

“It was such an unforgettable week; very difficult at times, very frustrating at times when I didn’t get the races that I wanted to, but I’m really happy with the whole journey to get here. It wasn’t easy and my training for the last six months was definitely very intense, so I’m very happy to be where I’m at.”

Information and quotes supplied by CIOC Press Attaché Kevin Morales.

See the results of the event here.