Beijing 2008 - British duo win Star gold

Eurosport - Fri, 22 Aug 01:55:00 2008

Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson secured a fourth gold for Britain at the Olympic regatta by winning the Star class title after a tense medal race.

SAILING 2008 Beijing Olympics Peter Bentley, Andrew Simpson, Bryony Shaw, Iain Percy, Ben Ainslie - 0

Percy, 32, won gold in the Finn dinghy in 2000 but said this triumph was "sweeter".

"It was unbelievable, so special. We felt good this morning, I knew we weren't going to bottle it and we didn't," said Percy, who was sixth in the Star in Athens along with Steve Mitchell. He joined forces with Simpson last year.

"It's been a killer four years and I am so glad it's behind me."

Brazil's Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada took silver and Fredrik Loof and Anders Ekstrom of Sweden won bronze in the final race of the regatta.

Both finished level on 53 points with the Brazilians securing silver after finishing ahead of the Swedes, who began the day in first place, in the decisive medal race.

There was confusion after the race, with the Swedes believing they had won silver when information screens reversed the medal race finishing positions and showed they were ninth in a blanket finish -- enough for silver -- and not the original 10th which left them in bronze.

Some minutes passed before the Swedes' result was corrected back to 10th.

"We concluded we had won silver, then we got in and a guy comes up to us and says we had not got silver, but bronze," a stoic Ekstrom said. "They wrote the wrong number."

The 35-year-old Scheidt adds a silver to the two gold and a silver he won in the one-man Laser dinghy at previous Games. Scheidt's girlfriend, Lithuanian Laser Radial sailor Gintare Volungeviciute, also won silver in Qingdao and the

Brazilian said: "It's somewhat romantic. Silver to silver, it matches well."

Britain finished the Qingdao regatta as the most successful sailing nation for the third straight Games.

"They were really difficult British conditions today," said Percy.

"Everything was changing. Boat places switched rapidly and we went from left to right. This morning when we heard the weather forecast that there would be heavy wind and rain, we thought to ourselves, 'here we go, bring it on, this is our business'.

"We just had to keep our eyes on the main guys and just fight, fight, fight," he added.

Simpson added: "At first, tears burst into my eyes, I was just so shocked. To achieve this here with your best friend is the best feeling in the world."

TORNADO

Spain's Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz held their nerve in choppy seas to win gold in the Tornado, possibly the last time the class will appear in the Olympics.

Australia's Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby won silver and Argentina's Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola took bronze.

The Spaniards, eighth in Athens four years ago, led their Australian rivals by three points going into the medal race but a fourth place in gusting winds on Thursday, with Bundock and Ashby fifth, was enough to take gold.

"After 10 years of training, we finally got out first Olympic medal," Echavarri said.

"We feel like we're the luckiest here. We've been winning championships and regattas, but this is the most important win of them all."

Bundock, who also won Olympic Tornado silver in 2000 along with John Forbes, said a disastrous start to the medal race proved costly.

"We stuffed up at the start and we parked," he said. "We broke our mast swivel and that's okay in 5 knots or under. But it was really breezy out there."

Twice Olympic champions Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher of Austria, winners in Sydney and Athens, sneaked into the medal race after a disappointing preliminary series and finished ninth overall.

The Qingdao regatta is the last Games for the Tornado class for the foreseeable future. An Olympic boat since 1976 and arguably the most spectacular of the Olympic fleet, it was left out of the London 2012 schedule.

Spain's Tornado triumph was their first gold of the regatta, although they could yet be awarded a second by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Spanish Olympic Committee, along with their Italian counterparts, have appealed to CAS asking that Denmark's 49er team be disqualified from gold following a controversial medal race on Sunday. Spain's Iker Martinez and Xavier Fernandez are in silver position.

The Danes took gold after borrowing a boat from the Croatian team after their mast snapped on the way to the start.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 18 of 18

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  1. to uffea- why dont you shut up,i bet your country is much more crapper in sports than ours?

    From Ripster, on Thu 21 Aug 11:53PM

  2. What a fantastic Olympics it was for Great Britain and especially because it was the last one before 2012..... what a way to say.. we are ready for you Olympics.. Bring on on!!!

    From Varisha, on Thu 21 Aug 7:35PM

  3. Where were you when we played football in Austria? Where were the british teams when the rest of the real teams played in the Olympics? You have a leauge with 65% foreigner who is trying to learn you to play football! Thats why you'll never will be where the big teams play!

    From uffea, on Thu 21 Aug 6:14PM

  4. Ooh, you @#$% englishmen, you are happy with a stolen medal! I have never seen in my life so many unsporting athlete's from UK as here in Beijing! Which stone has you been sleeping under the latest years? From now on, the Nordic people will hate you !

    From uffea, on Thu 21 Aug 6:11PM

  5. Never mind bell_carrie (No 4 Message), R.F.C No.1!!!!!! (No.11) is no excellEnt speller himself.

    From Oyibo John, on Thu 21 Aug 6:04PM

  6. As an expat. I was really glad to be home for the best part of the Olympics. I enjoy cycling, swimming and sailing......but it was all 'armchair stuff' this break. Back overseas now - but delighted with the news of the 'Star's Gold'. Little ol' GB - 3rd.in the medal tables. Well Done guys n' gals.

    From Oyibo John, on Thu 21 Aug 5:54PM

  7. Hi All,
    I am an ex-pat living in near Galveston,Teaxs and am very proud of everybody who has won a medal of any colour.

    Unfortunately over I do not get to see all the brit events and so have to rely on the internet for the results as the americans do tend to just look for the USA results.

    Anyway, I hope we win loads more and finish 3rd in the medal table..WoHooooo

    Keep up the good work Team GB

    From pete_the_stick, on Thu 21 Aug 5:16PM

  8. WOOOHOOO! I Passed! YES!

    Oh, and well done Team GB , You have done us proud. Keep going to the end! :)

    From Ripster, on Thu 21 Aug 1:36PM

  9. And before anyone starts, that was only a wind up, joke, taking the p**s, or however else you want to put it.
    I'm sure bell_carrie is an excellant teacher, with an exemplary record as well & I would gladly have her teaching either of my two little-un's.

    From R.F.C No.1 !!!!!!!, on Thu 21 Aug 12:46PM

  10. re msg 4 : bell_carrie - I'm really glad that you're really glad at how well Team G.B are doing, but I'm also really really glad that after seeing your spelling, I don't have any of my kids being taught by yourself. Only KIDding, (sorry, couldn't resist it) as I'm sure that you allow your pupils the odd spelling mistake here & there.

    From R.F.C No.1 !!!!!!!, on Thu 21 Aug 12:40PM

  11. Being retired, my wife and I have spent the last three Olympics at home, watching it on TV every day. We have always been impressed by those athletes who improve their PB's AND win medals - whether gold, silver or bronze and always felt sorry for those poor devils that came 4th (in any event). But this time, we have practically been beside ourselves with excitement at the the British 'goldrush' in Beijing and hope to God our boys and girls can maintain their current form until the 2012 Olympics in London. And talking of 'form'...Never mind the women's beach volleyball, I think Sharron Davies deserves a medal for those skimpy outfits she's fond of wearing in the commentator's studio!

    From Grandadpop, on Thu 21 Aug 11:38AM

  12. Absolutely fantastic. As an Englishman living in France I walk into my local pub (Bar/Restaurant) and say 'Grande Bretagne 17 France 4'. I'm not sure whether I'm still popular in Beaujolais! Beaujolais Tony

    From tonypassmore31@..., on Thu 21 Aug 11:29AM

  13. The Early Golds at the start of the Games were always a great Omen for Team GB and our Athletes have surpassed our wildest dreams in terms of their success. It just goes to prove that Human Endeavour can overcome under-investment in Sport... It has brought our Nation together in a way that no-one thought possible. I hope the Government take note and invest in our Youth of today... You want a solution to youth crime ?? Invest and encourage them to take up sport and become part of a team rather than a gang. Now back onto the theme... What a Fantastic Games and well done Team GB !!!

    From Randall, on Thu 21 Aug 11:10AM

  14. I'm so proud of my country! We are together on success of our excellent players and teams. Let's hope our good run continues.

    From pauljohnbrooks@..., on Thu 21 Aug 10:49AM

  15. I agree I've been really glad that I'm a school teacher and so have bee able to be able to be glued to the screen!

    From bell_carrie, on Thu 21 Aug 10:35AM

  16. Well done what a phenomenal GB games and the olympians on the water have done us all proud.. Got to top it in london 2012

    From dawn n, on Thu 21 Aug 10:30AM

  17. What an amazing Olympic Games - we have been glued to the BBC since the start ! Well done to Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson for an inspiring race ! How many more medals before the end ??????? Keep it up team GB !

    From gui.hermile@..., on Thu 21 Aug 10:04AM

  18. Great GB...

    From thomas564@..., on Thu 21 Aug 9:55AM
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