New Zealand will have four competitors enter the medal round tomorrow at the 2012 Semaine Olympique Francaise, Andrew Murdoch (Laser), Andy Maloney (Laser), Dan Slater (Finn) and Matt Coutts (Finn). The last day of racing in final series at this ISAF World Cup event was interrupted again due to extreme winds, and a similar forecast for tomorrow may compromise the medal races. Close racing between the NZL Sailing Teams Laser men has continued today as Andrew Murdoch stepped up to third overall after a third place finish in the final race, pushing Andy Maloney down to fourth after he had a tough race which luckily he was able to discard the score. Andrew Murdoch and Andy Maloney go forward to the final double point medal race tomorrow with just one point between them. Regatta leader and four time world champion Tom Slingsby of Australia is just seven points ahead of Andrew, so both kiwis are within striking distance should the final race go in their favour, and both are guaranteed to remain in the top six. Dan Slater in the Finn did not finish the only race for the fleet today, so that became his discarded score and only dropped him down the leader board by one place. He will go into tomorrows medal race in fifth and his best possible outcome will be a third on the podium. New Zealander Matt Coutts will also be entering the medal race on the final day of sailing tomorrow, as his twelfth place finish today kept him in 8th overall. The 49ers were kept ashore by the extreme conditions for the second time in this regatta, so Peter Burling and Blair Tuke remain in 13th overall after they were pushed out of the top ten when they lost a protest lodged by Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis of France yesterday. Natalia Kosinska has also just narrowly missed the medal round; her two 18th place finishes in the last races have left her in 11th overall at the end of the regatta. The tough conditions prevented the Match racing to conclude the round robins and with seven flights remaining, the finals seem to be an unlikely option. The NZL Sailing Teams Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen and Susannah Pyatt are ranked very near the middle of the fleet. The forecast for the last day of racing in Hyres is for very strong winds that could compromise the medal races. Live Tracking of the medal races is accessible through the Hyeres Regatta website, the Finn race will be at 10:15am (9:15pm NZT) and Laser 12:15pm (11:15pm NZT). The Semaine Olympique Franaise in Hyres is one of seven Sailing World Cup events. At less than a hundred days to the Olympic Games, over 900 sailors from 55 nations are competing in Hyres, France. Further updates on the NZL Sailing Team will be available via media releases and on the NZL Sailing Teams Facebook Page, twitter @NZLSailingTeam and Website. Full results and Hyres regatta news is available on the regatta website. New Zealands standings after final series Progressing to medal races Laser (106 entries) 4th - Andy Maloney- 21pts 3rd - Andrew Murdoch- 20 pts Finn (41 entries) 5th - Dan Slater- 37.2 pts 8th Matt Coutts- 61 pts 2012 Semaine Olympique Francaise Final Standings Laser 13th Sam Meech 40th Thomas Saunders 91st Michael Cate 49er (56 entries) 13th- Peter Burling and Blair Tuke 29th - Josh Porebski / Marcus Hansen RS:X Women (40 entries) 11th Natalia Kosinska Womens Match Racing (17 entries) 6 wins, 10 loss- Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen, Susannah Pyatt These sailors aresupported by a coaching team of Jez Fanstone, Mark Howard, Phil Douglas, Ian Neely and Caroline Brisebois
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