Medals loom for GB sailors
Ben Ainslie now guaranteed a silver medal
Friday, 15, Aug 2008 10:35
Another good day on the high seas for Great Britain's sailors has brought Ben Ainslie and friends several tacks closer to medals.
Ainslie, already a three-time Olympic medallist, finished in second place in his only race of the day. As nearest rival Zach Railey finished 19th Ainslie has guaranteed himself at least a silver medal in the finn class.
He is not the only British sailor doing well. The yngling trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson will be given a similar silver guarantee provided they avoid a disaster in their medal race.
They face a tough fight against the Dutch yngling crew for the gold, but Ainslie can afford to finish five places behind Railey and still emerge triumphant.
"It's not over yet by a long way, so I'm looking forward to getting out there and sailing a good race tomorrow," he said.
In other events on the water, Nick Dempsey is in third in the men's RS:X windsurfing, Penny Clark is in tenth for the laser radial class and Bryony Shaw is currently fifth on the leaderboard for the RS:X women's only class.