U.S. sailor Maggie Shea of Wilmette and her teammate Stephanie Roble failed to qualify for the 49er FX skiff class final after an unusual penalty in the Olympic qualifying races.
In sixth place heading into the last three of 12 qualifying heats, Roble and Shea were flagged during Race 10 for improperly moving their bodies to propel the boat in the very light conditions. The penalty is known in racing as a Rule 42 violation.
In the next race, they hit the first mark and immediately moved out of the rest of the fleet’s way to avoid a pileup and begin serving their penalty turn. The umpires raised a penalty flag at that time, which Roble and Shea said they assumed was related to hitting the mark.
When they finished the race, they learned the judges disqualified them for incurring a second Rule 42 violation and failing to retire from the race. They were saddled with 22 points for the race and barred from excluding it from their total score, even though sailors are typically allowed to drop their worst performance in the 12-race qualification portion.
Roble and Shea finished the qualification round three points short of the making the medal race. The penalty — which marked the first time they had been flagged twice since becoming teammates five years ago — ultimately cost them a place in the finals.
“This result doesn’t represent all that we’ve learned and accomplished,” Roble said after Saturday’s race. “We were sailing well throughout the event, and today we were sailing to win. We left it all out there.”
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