Annalise Murphy defies odds to hit the front

In a similar yet different story to the London 2012 Olympic Sailing regatta, Ireland’s Annalise Murphy took over the lead in the Women’s single-handed event yesterday that now has four races remaining in the qualification round.

Strong winds across the new course area off Copacabana Beach in open ocean as opposed to the sheltered waters of the opening two days saw large swells and physically exhausting conditions for both women and mens’ single-handed events.

In spite of the sea state, Murphy scored a fifth and a second place yesterday in both 50-minute races to push Chinese Gold medallist Lijia Xu from first place.