Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes clinched gold for Skandia Team GBR at the ISAF World Sailing Championships in Cascais, Portugal, on Friday (13 July), 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!”
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