Dickson Gains Olympic Venue Experience in Los Angeles
Irish Olympian Robert Dickson is in 21st place overall following the opening day of the Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam in San Pedro.
Dickson is competing with Australian sailor Jack Hildebrand after his regular crew, Sean Waddilove, was forced to withdraw due to injury. Hildebrand stepped in at the last minute, allowing Dickson to compete and gain valuable racing experience on the waters that will host the sailing events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Despite having little time to adjust to their new set-up, Dickson and Hildebrand showed some improvement across Monday’s three races. They opened with a 23rd-place finish, which currently stands as their discard, before climbing to tenth in the second race of the day. A 21st-place finish in race three leaves them 21st overall heading into the second day of the Preliminary Series.
The warm, sunny conditions with 15 knots of breeze and rolling ocean swell off San Pedro have provided an ideal opportunity for Dickson to learn more about the Olympic venue. Although the Games are still two years away, every race offers valuable insight into the local weather patterns, sea state and demands of the course.
Germany’s Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger lead the standings after the opening day, followed closely by France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin.
Racing in the second week of the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta continues through Saturday, 8 August. The fleet will contest three races per day across the first five days, with the top ten progressing to Saturday’s Final Series. There, two further races will decide the podium positions.
Event details, entries, results and schedules are available at sanpedroocr.org and here on sailing.ie.