Two more Medals for GBR - 49er and 470

by RYA on 14 Jul 2007 Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes clinched 49er Gold and Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark took 470 Bronze for Skandia Team GBR at the ISAF World Sailing Championships in Cascais, Portugal, on Friday, bringing the final British medal haul to two gold and four bronze medals at the close of the event.

The Exmouth-based duo dominated from day one of the Championships – which are a key part of the selection process for British sailors for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – and went into Friday’s medal race with an 11 point lead over their nearest Austrian rivals Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Leopold.

The Brits got a slow start in the 10-boat final race, but managed to keep ahead of the Austrian team throughout, crossing the finish line in fourth place to extend their winning lead to 17 points.

'It’s amazing – definitely the highlight of our sailing careers so far, and hopefully a vital stepping stone in our campaign for Beijing next year,' said Morrison. 'Ben did a wicked job today and we’re over the moon!

'We had the yellow dot on our sail from day dot. I don’t know if anyone’s ever done that at a 49er World Championship before, but who cares? We have now!'

The 2006 World Champions Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks finished the 49er medal race in eighth place, to end the Championships ninth overall.

Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark clinched bronze in the 470 women’s event on Friday, winning the medal race by a considerable distance to pull themselves back up from fourth overnight and onto the podium.

'It’s awesome!' Bassadone exclaimed. 'At the Worlds at San Francisco in 2005 when we won silver there was no podium, so at least this time we’ve actually had the chance to get up onto a podium to collect our medals!'

Although they were unable to claim a podium spot heading into the 470 men’s final race, Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield finished on a high, coming second in the medal race for the men’s double-handed class to see them end their regatta in eighth place.

With two gold and four bronze medals won at these crucial World Championships, Skandia Team GBR also clinched the IOC President’s Cup for the overall top nation at the event. That, coupled with the fact that Great Britain has qualified its country place at this event in all 11 classes for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has made Olympic Manager Stephen Park a happy man.

'Winning six medals at the World Championships is fantastic, but what is really pleasing is that we were competing for the gold medal in eight of the eleven disciplines,' said Park.

'We hope to be able to build this towards China next year in our quest to bring home at least three medals for Team GB.'

ISAF Worlds Final Results, Friday 13 July

49er (FINAL)

470 Women (FINAL)

470 Men (FINAL)