Olympics 2008 Sailing : Yngling Class Results

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The Yngling Class Race came to a fabulous finish with some of the best finishing at the top of the class in these only-for-women sailboat races.



THE RACE AS IT HAPPENED

Two of the three on the British Yngling team — Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb — defended their Yngling gold from 2004, with Pippa Wilson as third crew in Qingdao after she replaced Shirley Robertson of the Athens crew.

"When we crossed the line, the of three of us just looked at each other," said Ayton, the British skipper.


"Words cannot put any kind of meaning on it. " she said. "You just know that you're the best in the world at what you do."

Their victory came in Olympic sailing's first use of a medal race. The top 10 boats in a series of preliminary races advance to the medal final, which counts double in determining each boat's total score.

Going into the race, which was postponed from Saturday because the winds failed, the British women had a one-point lead on the Dutch team of Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen. However, the final race turned into a battle between the British and the German trio of Ulrike Schuemann, Ute Hoepfner and Julia Bleck.

The British led the first two legs, surfing downwind in the choppy Yellow Sea with their spinnaker, only to be passed by the Germans on the third. On the final leg, the British fought back, and crossed the line seven seconds ahead of Germany, to win both the medal race and the gold medal. The Germans ended as No. 4 overall.

The Dutch, which had been the only team in a position to challenge the British crew, were No. 5 in the 10-boat fleet, a finish that secured them the silver.

"This is my first Olympic medal, but it is a pity that we didn't beat (Britain)," said Bes, of the Dutch boat.

The Greek trio of Sofia Bekatorou, who won the 470 class gold in Athens, Sofia Papadopoulou and Virginia Kravarioti finished third in the medal race to snatch the bronze in the close race with the rest of the fleet.

"We feel great for the 10 million Greeks back home," Bekatorou said about bronze.
(SOURCE)

OVERALL STANDINGS

GOLD - The Great Britain Team consisting of Sarah AYTON, Sarah WEBB and Pippa WILSON.


SILVER - The Netherlands Team consisting of Mandy MULDER, Annemieke BES and Merel WITTEVEEN.

BRONZE - The Greece Team consisting of Sofia BEKATOROU, Sofia PAPADOPOULOU and Virginia KRAVARIOTI.