Olympics: Kirklands Finish 6th In First Race
[Updated] The first day of Cup Match is starting out on a very positive note with another strong performance from Bermuda at the Olympic Games, with the Kirklands storming to a 6th place finish in their first race this morning [Aug 2].
Jesse and Zander Kirkland rounded the first mark in third place 5 seconds behind the leaders, they remained in third place after the second mark, but were 7 seconds behind.
They fell to sixth after the third mark, before moving up one spot after the fourth mark 31 second back. When they rounded the fifth mark they were 37 seconds back, but when they crossed the finish line they
were 6th overall 45 seconds behind winners Steve Morrison and Ben Rhodes from Great Britain.
Bermuda athletes have excelled over the past 24 hours, with Olympic swimmer Roy Allan Burch winning his heat in the 50m freestyle and placing 24th overall this morning.
This followed after outstanding performances from two Bermudian professional footballers yesterday, with both Reggie Lambe and Nahki Wells scoring two goals each to help propel their teams to victory in Canada and the UK respectively.
The island’s cricket players can be expected to join in, and thrill the Cup Match crowds with two days of cricket.
Update 10.01am: The second race did not go as well as the first. The Kirklands rounded the first mark in 14th place 28 seconds behind the leaders, they were 11th 39 seconds back, they went around the third mark 12 58 seconds back, but from there they did not finish.
They have now completed eight races thus far, recording four “did not finishes,” one 19th place, one 18th place, one 12th place and one 6th place. As the competition has progressed this week they have improved going from 18/19th, to 12th to 6th places finishes. They remain in 19th place in the standings.
They Kirklands have seven races left, and will race again tomorrow. You can view all our Olympic coverage here and view a photo gallery of the Kirklands at the Olympics here.
Update 12.48pm: The Kirklands tweeted about their morning’s races:
Got a 6th in 1st rce! Had a solid one going in the 2nd rce, but shrimped the kite and ripped the pole launcher. Epic skiff sailing today!!
— Kirkland Brothers(@KirklandBrother) August 2, 2012
Well done Bermuda!
Hey now! That’s the sailing that got you in the top 20.
They are the only team that has 4 DNF’s meaning did not finish. By some fluke they got a 6. Not a single other team has even ONE DNF. There is nothing ‘well done Bermuda’ about this! They are in nearly last place, doing very poorly indeed – it is NOT close. Meanwhile, Burch, the incredible swimmer, is actually doing AMAZING things over there yet he gets second billing in the story….. WTH??????? Embarrassing.
Thanks for your comment, however Roy Allan Burch got “second billing” as this story is actually about the Kirklands finishing 6th. There is a separate story on Roy Allan Burch’s great job this morning. Please feel free to read that here.
We would encourage you to look to the Olympic section as each athlete gets their own article after each time they compete. We think all our Olympians deserve their due and are trying to give them that.
…well, I dont see you out there competing in the Olympics, 75 so you have no business describing ANY Bda athlete as “poorly”…Well done to all BDA Olympic athletes!
I’m not attacking these guys but of all the sports we should excel in, you’d think it would be this one. I can understand why Bermuda wouldn’t do good at certain events-especially the events that dominate the Winter Olympics. However, you’d think that we’d have an advantage in a sport like Sailing. If we don’t do good at that, what chance do we have at any other sport?
very competitive class and a difficult boat to handle…these boys will be around for the next 15 yrs, plenty of time to mature. maybe they should train and race in UK
Great job Bermuda!