Two familiar foes are facing each other at the top of the Aspen Women’s Match Racing Regatta leaderboard with Anna Ostling and Pauline Courtois looking down on their rivals.

Ostling was a perfect three from three on the second day, with her dramatic run of victories started by a remarkable comeback win over Nicole Breault.

The US sailor carved out a handsome lead over the Swedish skipper but her failure to capitalise on a dramatic wind shift allowed Ostling to reverse her fortunes and produce the unlikeliest of wins.

“Last night I was trying to visualise the starts and improving them but we came out in the first race and made a terrible start against Nicole,” Ostling said.

“But we never give up and that is one of the things we are good at. The adrenalin was up and it worked well. Sometimes you need to be super angry.”

Ostling took her regatta record to 6-1, with her only defeat coming against Courtois, who beat her in the final last year.

“This week we feel like we are coming on strong, but Pauline is so good.” she said. “I do think, though, that we can be very dangerous this week.”

Defending champion Courtois bounced back from a disappointing first day to win all three of her races and take her record to 5-2, but she is still searching for better.

“We really need to improve our speed in these boats,” she said. “And we know how to win.

While no one would bet against Ostling and Courtois progressing to the semi-finals from this position, the remaining spots in the final four are up for grabs.

Julia Aartsen, Lea Vogelius and Breault are all on four points, with Kristine Mauritzen on three and Lindsey Baab on two, with seven races still to go.

Dutch skipper Aartsen was the nemesis of US sailors Baab and Breault, beating both of them, and she was teased by Tucker Thompson, host of the post-racing press conference, about her dislike of the US.

“We want to win every race and today was a good day. It was great to beat the two Americans but it’s nothing personal,” she joked to the delight of the audience.