NICK ROGERS and Joe Glanfield overcame a poor start to win the silver medal in the 470’s men class after finishing third in the medal race at the Olympic sailing regatta today.
The Athens silver medalists entered the medal race in fourth place in the overall standings, needing to finish at least two spots in front of France or three in front of the Netherlands to secure a place on the podium.
The British pair made a poor start and were in ninth place at the first mark, 49 seconds behind leaders Australia, but they made up considerable ground on the second leg and made the turn in sixth place, four places behind the French but four in front of the last-placed Dutch.
They improved their position on the run back to the windward mark, crossing in fourth place, two places in front of the French to put themselves on the silver trail.
And they improved their position to third at the finish line, six seconds behind the gold medal-winning Australian boat with France finishing sixth and the Dutch coming home in seventh.
The French and Dutch were tied on 78 points but France took the bronze by virtue of their better finish in the medal race.
It was the latest success for Great Britain’s Olympic team who gleamed with gold after a weekend which re-wrote the history books and sent a warning to the world to beware the hosts in 2012. From the total domination of the track cyclists to the remarkable resurgence in the Water Cube, no fewer than 17 British athletes stepped on to the podium over two remarkable days.
After nine days, Great Britain had surpassed their gold medal hauls from both Athens and Sydney.
They had secured a total of 24 medals, and stood on the brink of their most successful Games since 1920. Prior to the Games, Great Britain chef de mission Simon Clegg had insisted the primary purpose in Beijing was to prepare for London. If this was just a warm-up, then heaven help the rest.
“The Games in 2012 is going to be an amazing opportunity and has always been my main target, not this Olympics because I’m only 19,” said Rebecca Adlington, double gold medalist in the 400m and 800m freestyle. Chris Hoy, the iron man of the track, who has swept aside the world’s best sprint cyclists on his way to winning two golds with another predicted tomorrow, added: “It’s beyond expectations, and it’s a day we’ll remember for a long time.”
At Shunyi Lake, British rowers continued to revel in the post-Redgrave glow, with six medals heading their way, while in Qingdao sailors Ben Ainslie and the ‘Blondes in a Boat’ got in on the act. Britain even shone in sports with less tradition of success.
Cambridge 19-year-old Louis Smith rounded off an amazing weekend by becoming the first British man to win a gymnastics medal.
“It’s 14 years of hard work all made worthwhile,” said Smith after claiming his historic bronze and maintained there is more to come.
