Paul Goodison has won the gold medal in the Laser class in Qingdao.

Four-time European champion Goodison, who finished fourth on his Olympic debut at Athens 2004, led the fleet by 18 points going into today's double points medal race meaning as long as the Brit did not finish 10th and last in the race and second-placed Swede Rasmus Myrgren win it, the Olympic crown would be Goodison's.

Goodison sailed the Swede to the back of the fleet at the start and pinned him there throughout the race, stopping Myrgren reaching the front and threatening gold.

Speaking immediately after the race, Goodison said: "It might not have been the best way to do it but with the conditions being so tricky, it was the best way of making sure of gold."

Goodison's is Britain's fourth sailing medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with Ben Ainslie (Finn) and Yngling trio Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson winning gold on Sunday and Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield clinching 470 men's silver yesterday (Monday).

Penny Clark finished her Olympic campaign in 10th after a 7th in the medal race.

In the windsurfing, GBR's Nick Dempsey came 5th today to leave him on equal second on points going into the medal race tomorrow. Bryony Shaw was second in today's race and goes into the medal race in third overall, just 4 points adrift of the lead.


Keep up with the racing tomorrow on the YBW homepage or on the RYA's Beijing olympics site. If you feel like an early start you can watch the racing live on BBC TV or streamed on the internet.
Yachting Monthly, 19 August 2008