Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/795987
21 Sport SAILING OLYMPICS maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 MARCH 2017 Closely fought Winter Series Coastal Races launch 2017 Race Calendar THE Royal Malta Yacht Club hosted the last race of the Royal Malta Yacht Club Winter Series Coastal Races on Sunday 5th March to a light south easterly breeze of 10 to 14 knots. Five boats undertook a course that took them past the Val- letta fairway buoy then south to the outer Munxar East cardi- nal mark and on to the halfway mark the Benghajsa East Cardi- nal mark and back to finish off at the Club's terrace. The leg between Fairway and Munxar proved to be quite a balanced beat to windward. The reach to Benghajsa and back was fast and the run to Fairway also. The f leet kept close through- out but it was an exciting finish between Xpresso, Lartista and Kon Tiki much to the joy of the spectators who were watching the proceedings from the Club's terrace. Similar conditions had met the f leet for the first race of the Se- ries which took place on Sunday 19th February. The Royal Malta Yacht Club is now gearing up for the forth- coming St. Patrick's Weekend Regatta which is being organised with the assistance of the Em- bassy of the Republic of Ireland, Malta. The weekend of events will get underway on Friday 17th March with a Race Briefing held at the Club whilst races will be held on Saturday and Sunday morning. On the social scene a St. Patrick's themed party will be held for Club members and their guests on Saturday 18th March. More information about the 2017 Race Calendar can be found on the Club's website – www.rmyc.org or via email on info@rmyc.org. Results for the Royal Malta Yacht Club Winter Series Coastal Races Placings Race 1 – (19.02.2017) Race 2 – (05.03.2017) 1st Place Otra Vez (Aaron Gatt Floridia) Xpresso (Sean Borg) 2nd Place Kon Tiki (Ferdinand Grech) Lartista (Anton Calleja) 3rd Place Lartista (Anton Calleja) Kon Tiki (Ferdinand Grech) IOC's Fredericks steps down as 2024 Games bid chief INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee member Frank Fred- ericks stepped down yesterday as head of the team evaluating bids to host the 2024 Olympics, as an IOC ethics commission investigates al- leged payments to him before the awarding of the 2016 Games to Rio. Namibian Fredericks, a four- time Olympic sprint silver medal- list over 100m and 200m, denied any wrongdoing and said he was moving aside so as not to be a dis- traction in the investigation, an- nounced last Friday. On Monday he had stepped down as head of a task force at the in- ternational athletics federation (IAAF). "I categorically deny any direct or indirect involvement in any unto- ward conduct and confirm that I have never breached any law, regu- lation or rule of ethics in respect of any IOC election process," Freder- icks said in a statement. As head of the IOC bid commis- sion, he had been due to lead an inspection visit to 2024 candidate cities Los Angeles and Paris in April and May and draft a report. He said he would now not attend a July briefing for IOC members on the 2024 bids, and would not take part in voting for the host city, due to take place in Peru in September. The IOC ethics probe follows a report by French newspaper Le Monde that prosecutors were in- vestigating payments made shortly before the vote in 2009 that award- ed the 2016 Olympics to Rio. The paper said Papa Massata Diack, the Senegalese son of dis- graced former IAAF President Lamine Diack, transferred about $300,000 to a company linked to Fredericks. Fredericks told Le Monde the money was paid for work he did to promote athletics in Africa at the time. "The articles do not only target me, they target the integrity of the International Olympic Committee bidding and elections process for host cities," he said. The elder Diack is under inves- tigation in France for corruption, while the son is the subject of an Interpol wanted notice, issued at the request of French authorities, for alleged corruption and money laundering. Papa Diack has denied the allegations and said both he and his father are innocent. "I believe in the integrity of the election processes of the IOC and never noticed anything untoward to make me doubt this. I reiterate that I was never involved with any vote manipulation or for that mat- ter any other inappropriate or ille- gal practice," Fredericks said. "Nonetheless I have personally decided...I step aside as chairper- son of the 2024 evaluation com- mission, because it is essential that the important work my colleagues are doing is seen as being carried out in a truthful and fair manner." Frank Fredericks