Olympics 2008 Sailing : LASER CLASS RESULTS

The results for the Laser Class for men & women were surprising. While Goodison had quite a tricky and stressful time winning Gold from the Men's category, amongst the women: Volungeviciute won silver but created Olympic history as the first Lithuanian sailor to win an Olympic medal!

Findout the medalists & their experiences... Results here

Laser Men: Paul Goodison of Great Britain clinched gold in the Laser (Men's One Person Dinghy) with a ninth finish in the medal race and an overall point total of 63, eight points ahead of Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia who finished second in the medal place to claim silver. Goodison, who finished fourth in Athens, added to Great Britain's impressive gold medal -- making it three gold so far for his NOC. Diego Romero of Italy, an early leader in the regatta, grabbed bronze with 75 points overall.

Goodison came into the medal race 18 points ahead of his nearest rival, so all he had to do was keep Rasmus Myrgren of Sweden from finishing first. The Briton sat on top of his Swedish adversary throughout the two lap windward/leeward course at the back end of the fleet.

"It was quite tricky and pretty stressful," Goodison admitted. "I waited to make sure that I got the gold at the end of the day -- and there was only way to guarantee it. Sweden knew it was coming too -- but I just had to do what I had to do."


Gold GOODISON Paul Great Britain
Silver ZBOGAR Vasilij Slovenia
Bronze ROMERO Diego Italy




Laser Radial Women: Anna Tunnicliffe of the United States staged a stunning and dramatic comeback to claim the Laser Radial (Women's One Person Dinghy) gold medal from rising star Gintare Volungeviciute of Lithuania in light and shifty winds before a packed crowd on Tuesday afternoon. In the box seat going into today's race, Tunnicliffe, the World No.1 Laser Radial sailor, made a dive for the windward end of the crowded start line and, in doing so, crossed early and had to return and restart.

That created easy picking for Volungeviciute who finished with Silver and Xu Lijia of China who took bronze.

With the US sailor out of the back door, China took the early lead, but it was not long before the Lithuanian had the upper hand. Choosing the opposite side of the course to Xu, Volungeviciute led around the first windward mark. Although Xu stayed in close touch, she never caught her rival.

As the leaders reached the last mark of the course, Sarah Blanck of Australia, also in medal contention, caught a shift and made her way to third place, but she needed to pass Xu to win bronze. Then, out of ninth place appeared Tunnicliffe, who had gone to the left side of the course. She came through to finish the race in second place.


Volungeviciute may have missed gold, but she won the race, the silver and created Olympic history as the first Lithuanian sailor to win an Olympic medal. Because Xu stayed calm she kept Blanck at bay in fourth place, the same rank as in Athens.

Gold TUNNICLIFFE Anna United States
Silver VOLUNGEVICIUTE Gintare Lithuania
Bronze LIJIA Xu China

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Olympics 2008 Sailing : The LASER Class

Probably the world's most loved sailboat due to it's nimbleness while handling, and ability to speed at lightning speeds, the Laser Class of sailboats is synonymous to professional youth sailing.


The Laser is one of the most popular single-handed dinghies in the world. By 2007, the number of boats produced exceeded 190,000.


A commonly cited reason for its popularity is that it is robust and simple to rig and sail.

THE LASER CLASS

According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes simplicity and performance.


A version with a smaller sail, the Laser Radial (see below), will be the women's Olympic-class boat this time 2008.

Laser sailing and racing presents a unique set of physical and skill based challenges. Fast Laser sailing requires an advanced level of fitness in order to endure the straight legged hiking and body-torque techniques required to get upwind and reach quickly.


Downwind sailing is unique in that Lasers can sail by the lee and reach. Fast Laser sailors switch back and forth between these two points of sail to surf and sail around waves.

LASERS - 4.7, RADIAL & STANDARD

The Laser 4.7 uses a short pre-bent lower mast to maintain a balanced helm and a sail area that is 35% smaller than the Laser Standard. It is ideal for learning to sail or for the lighter weight sailor graduating from Optimist.


The Laser Radial is the next step up. It uses a more flexible and slightly shorter lower mast together with a sail area 18% smaller than the Laser Standard. The Laser Radial has a large following with national and international regattas and World Open &Youth Championships attracting as many countries and competitors as the Laser Standard Rig. As well as a strong following amongst lighter weight sailors the Laser Radial is also used for youth, women and masters racing. Many countries now support a full Laser Radial Youth programme and in a survey of national yachting authorities conducted by the International Sailing Federation the majority replied that the Laser Radial was their preferred youth boat.


The Laser Standard can be sailed by any weight in light winds, but as the wind increases it is better suited to higher sailor weights.



...AT THE OLYMPICS 2008

The skill of the competitors in both Laser classes is simply astounding, and the conditions at Qingdao in this year's Olympics will likely reward the quick over the fast. With a fairly goo-catching centerboard and flat bottom, the Lasers may have a tricky time with the Qingdao algae if it comes back in quantity, and it could be a major factor for the fleet. Keep a close eye on Tom Slingsby (AUS), as well as Murdoch (NZL) and Goodison (GBR) for the Laser Class, and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), The host nation's Lijia Xu (CHN), and Sarah Blanck (AUS) for the Laser Radial Class.

For the Laser Class Olympic Race Schedule, click here.
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