Percy and Simpson claim gold

Eurosport - Sat, 19 Sep 14:29:00 2009

Iain Percy insisted there is room for improvement despite collecting first prize at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta after the medal race was cancelled.

SAILING 2008 Beijing Olympics Iain Percy Andrew Simpson - 0

Percy, along with Andrew Simpson, were handed gold courtesy of their three first-place finishes across the week, after a lack of wind brought a premature end to proceedings.

The British duo finished on 45 points, nine ahead of closest rivals Fredrik Loof and Johan Tillander but Percy, a two-time Olympic champion, believes he and Simpson can only get better ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

"There is not a breath of wind out there today, which is a complete change from the rest of the week, but it handed us an easy victory so we can't complain," he said.

"We had some good results over the week but we also made a couple of mistakes which we were punished for.

"We are perfectionists so we always look back and wish we hadn't made mistakes but we have only been in a boat for a total of about 15 days this year so we are quite pleased.

"It's frustrating not to be able to sail today but it was the right decision, which was a difficult one for the organisers.

"There is a lot of pressure on them to hold the races today with the spectators and TV crews here but you don't want to ruin a great week's racing for the sake of the cameras."

Meanwhile, RS:X windsurfer Bryony Shaw upgraded her Olympic bronze to silver but was left ruing the elements as she still had Spanish gold medallist Blanca Manchon in her sights ahead of the medal race.

"It would have been nice to have a little battle out there today, but I'm happy with second. The Spanish girl has sailed really well this week," she added.

"Getting confidence from the result is really important from me. Missing out on the medals at the World Championships was a big disappointment for me, but this week has shown I can bounce back from that in what was an equally competitive field.

"I can now focus on the winter season and I know I can go into next season in good shape. Things are really moving forward for me."

More than the Games / Eurosport

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