Paul Goodison sailed a tactical medal race, finishing 9th, enough to take the Gold. Whatever your views on match racing in the Medal Race, this is an awesome result for Paul and well deserved, all the more so for the challenging conditions in which the competition was sailed. Paul posted seven top-ten results in 9 races, including two firsts, giving him a massive 18-point lead going into the Medal Race. It is unfortunate that Rasmus Myrgren (SWE) lost his place on the podium in the process, but he has admitted that he would probably have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
Over in the Radial fleet Anna Tunnicliffe, under much more pressure in her Medal Race, showed why she is World #1, pulling off a second place to secure victory. This has been her theme all regatta: no race wins but consistently good results. A great result also for Gintare (LTU) who must be happy also to have taken victory in the Medal Race. Lijia Xu kept the home flag flying with a podium finish in the Medal Race and the Bronze medal.
And of course, many congratulations to Vasilij, who followed up a Bronze medal at Athens with a Silver medal here in Qingdao. He must have been under intense pressure in the Medal Race, but held his nerve for a 2nd place, to move up from 4th overall. This shows a level of mental strength that one only achieves after more than 10 years of racing. His result also gives Trevor Millar his second Olympic medal as a coach, something most coaches only dream about.
Well done all.
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