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2012 Olympics, Pre-Regatta

A collection of images from the Weymouth including the opening ceremony with Team GBR, and Saturday's practice races for the Finn and Star classes.

The crowd at the opening ceremony in Weymouth.
The crowd at the opening ceremony in Weymouth.
The crowd at the opening ceremony in Weymouth.
There has been little false modesty on display when it comes to the British Olympic Sailing Team. Whether it was this slick opening ceremony in Weymouth, or the gold-trimmed uniforms the team wore. Not that they need to show any, they have a legitimate shot at a medal in all 10 classes. There isn’t another country with more than half that number. But as one unnamed journalist said: “When you have that much gold on your uniform, you’d better go out and win some.”
Ben Ainslie, waving at right, is the closest thing to a god here in Weymouth. Every move he makes on the racecourse will be closely watched and scrutinized.
Nothing like a little fire drill to get things going at the Olympic village. Three trucks and a lot of “move it back people” later and everything was back to normal.
This Weymouth Live site, where people can sit in the sand and watch the big screen, is a exponentially bigger installment than I’ve seen for any previous Olympics.
Zach Railey checks the wind on the Nothe course before the practice race. He was in fourth when people started to abandon the race in a hurry.
New Zealand’s Daniel Slater was winning the practice race after one lap. On the back of his boat is the camera placement. While each mount is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, the weight can affect the boat’s handling.
Men’s 470 World champions Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page of Australia practice with the Japanese team.
Canada looked good early in the Star practice race, but was over early and dropped out at the windward mark.
Defending gold medalist Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson of Great Britain looked strong in the fresh breeze. Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih of the United States did not do as well in the practice race, rounding the first mark mid-fleet and dropping a few boats on the run.
This will be America’s Cup veteran Hamish Pepper’s third Olympics. He sailed for New Zealand in the Laser in 1996 and in the Star in 2008. He’s yet to win a medal, but should never be counted out.
You can knock the scenery here in Weymouth, though the forecast is fairly dreary for the next few days.
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