While Yin Jian nearly caused a riot when she won China's first ever Olympic Sailing gold medal in a heart-stopping performance that had Chinese spectators screaming and waving flags...2008 world champion Tom Ashley of New Zealand won gold in the Men's RS:X (Windsurfer) with 52 overall points, just one point better than second-place finisher Julien Bontemps of France!
Results for the RS:X Class Men & Women are in...
A roar went up from the fans lining the viewing wall just outside the venue when they realised Yin had won gold by finishing third in the medal race after fighting back from fifth and out of contention for the title.
Italy's Alessandra Sensini won the race to take silver while Bryony Shaw of Great Britain took bronze after finishing the race second.
Yin led out and chose the left side of the course with Australia and New Zealand in toe, while Yin's main adversaries, Marina Alabau of Spain, Sensini and Shaw went right.
The right side paid and Yin was forced into catch-up as first Alabau, then Shaw and finally Sensini took the lead. Trouble loomed when Ukrainian sailor Olha Maslivets, who was out of the medal running, came between the front pack and China. Had it finished that way, it would have cost Yin the gold medal.
But while Sensini got away from the fleet, Yin fought back to third to claim Olympic glory.
"I didn't think about anything during today's race. I knew that if I kept passing one after another, that victory would be mine," said Yin, asking excitedly: "Is this real? Is this real? Did I really win gold?"
RS:X Women
Gold YIN Jian China
Silver SENSINI Alessandra Italy
Bronze SHAW Bryony Great Britain
2008 world champion Tom Ashley of New Zealand won gold in the Men's RS:X (Windsurfer) with 52 overall points, just one point better than second-place finisher Julien Bontemps of France. Shahar Zubari of Israel finished second in the medal race to grab bronze with 58 points overall and give Israel's its first medal of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Ashley experienced his worst day of sailing on Tuesday, August 19, positioned 32nd in the final race of the opening series, and many wondered if he could climb back to win on Wednesday in the light shifty airs. He finished the medal race third behind Chan King-yin of Hong Kong and Zubari.
"I've done it. It's the most incredible feeling and I can't begin to tell you how I feel right now," Ashley said. "It was an insanely tough medal race -- the weather gave us a little bit of everything, but I tried to sail as consistently as I could."
Julien Bontemps of France, who took the series lead on Tuesday, failed to medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, finishing ninth.
Shahar Zubari also created a Wednesday comeback to claim his bronze medal, reveling in the lighter shifty airs and flat seas -- sailing conditions he loves.
"I feel so happy. I'm only 20 and I feel like a superstar. I was lucky to have the wind on my side today," Zubari said. "When I finished, I counted back and realized I had won bronze. I was crazy with joy."
RS:X Men
Gold ASHLEY Tom New Zealand
Sliver BONTEMPS Julien France
Bronze ZUBARI Shahar Israel
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