Australia wins gold in Men's Laser at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition
by Andy Rice, World Sailing 31 Jul 2021 23:17 PDT
25 July - 4 August 2021
Matt Wearn (AUS) has won gold in the Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser with Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) taking silver and Hermann Tomasgaard (NOR) bronze.
Wearn had already wrapped up the gold medal before the Medal Race but took to the startline for a victory lap.
It was a clean start off the line, and quite even too. Jean-Baptise Bernaz (FRA) took up the lead, making the most of a mathematical but unlikely chance of a medal.
Tomasgaard rounded the first mark in eighth, not far back from the 10-boat fleet, but over the next lap the Norwegian sailed through to fifth on the next lap, making his intentions clear for the silver medal.
However, Stipanovic fought back hard on the final lap, overtaking Tomasgaard and moving into silver medal position.
At the finish Bernaz won the race, Wearn was second, but more importantly Stipanovic's fourth place got him the silver medal to go with the one he won at Rio 2016. Tomasgaard was still happy to get the bronze.
Wearn's gold medal makes it three golds in a row for Australia in the Laser, following on from Tom Slingsby at London 2012 and Tom Burton at Rio 2016.
Following a glittering Olympic career that spans quarter of a century, today's Medal Race was the last time we'll see Robert Scheidt competing in the Olympics. His story began at Atlanta 1996 when the Brazilian won gold in the Laser. Now aged 48, with five Olympic medals from seven Games, Scheidt bows out as one of the greatest of all time.