Korean sailor Ha Jee-min ends day one in the middle of the pack

Korean sailor Ha Jee-min sits in 34th place out of 43 sailors in the men’s dinghy after the first day of action at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

Korean sailor Ha Jee-min competes in the men’s dinghy race at the Paris Olympics on Thursday in Marseille, France. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean sailor Ha Jee-min sits in 34th place out of 43 sailors in the men’s dinghy after the first day of action at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

Race 1 and Race 2 of the 10-race men's dinghy competition were held consecutively in waters off Marseille on Thursday. Kim finished the first race in 30th place and the second in 32nd for a combined score of 62.

Sailing races take place in a fleet race format in which a group of boats compete at the same time. Boats earn points for their finishing position in each race, with the first boat winning one point and the second boat taking two points and so on. The lower the total score, the higher the placement for the boat. There are 10 ranking races before the final medal race.

Ha has competed for Korea at the last three Olympics, with a 13thj-place finish in Tokyo as his best to date.

He will return to the water for races 3 and 4 on Friday, with 5 and 6 on Saturday, 7 and 8 on Sunday and 9 and 10 on Monday. The medal race will be held on Tuesday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]