News With Sugarloaf Mountain in the background as the sun set on Saturday (22 August), sailors from four Olympic classes climbed the podium to receive their medals They were the last to be recognised at the Aquece Rio International Regatta, bringing to an end the second Rio 2016 sailing test event Like the first, in August 2014, the competition area was the main focus of evaluation As with the first event, the evaluation was positive “We have had two opportunities to test the water monitoring, carried out in partnership with the state government, and we only saw advances,” said Gustavo Nascimento, Rio 2016’s venue management director “We had about 400 people working, including staff, volunteers and contractors, and we also only saw progress in terms of their integration Of course we have a lot of work in front of us, in terms of controlling flows and accreditation, for example, but this is fine tuning ”For Alastair Fox, competition director at the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the biggest challenge to operations was posed by the wind “This was a big test of our flexibility, using all six courses (three inside and three outside Guanabara Bay) We also had to take into consideration what was done last year For the Games, we know about the pollution challenge, but also we know the work that is being done and because of this we are confident that the competition will happen in the best possible way ”Sailors from 19 countries won medals at the second Rio 2016 sailing test event (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) The wind conditions prompted the postponement of the Nacra 17 event, which was scheduled for Friday but took place on Saturday The inclusion of a sixth course – by Pai Island, near Niterói – turned out to be important in terms of offering more flexibility in the face of challenging climatic conditions Fox said that the ISAF would confirm which courses would be used for the Olympic Games in the next few weeks In the water, it was a truly global affair, with 19 different nations (from a total of 50) winning medals France led the way with five podiums, among them Charline Picon, who defended the RS:X windsurf title she won last year “I hope to win for a third time next year,” she said Australian duo Mathew Belcher and William Ryan also defended their title from last year’s regatta, in the 470 class “The competition was well organised and we had the chance to race on all six courses, so it was an important test,” said Belcher “We are very pleased and we hope to return next year ”Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha of the USA celebrate winning gold in the 470 class (Photo: Rio 2016/Mathilde Molla) Dutchman Pieter-Jan Postma perhaps hoped for more than the bronze medal he won in the Finn class “The important thing is not to let it get you down and to try again,” he said “But I was made to feel very welcome, the people here are great Competing here is a good lesson, the wind is also different You have to be open to that ”Host nation Brazil had entries in all 10 classes and had representatives in five finals, with Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze taking gold in the 49erFX, repeating their success from last year, and their celebration: jumping into the water Click here to see the full results on the ISAF website Check out our gallery of the best images from the sailing test event below: