-
OS i Syndey
Inte mycke om Mistral men detta fanns på Eurosports sidor.
Sensini bags historic gold for Italy
Italy claimed its first Olympic sailing success in 48 years on Sunday when Alessandra Sensini snatched the gold medal in the women’s Mistral sailboard class from German Amelie Lux in a thrilling final race. Christoph Sieber then won Austria’s second gold medal of the regatta when he came from behind in the final two races to oust Argentina’s Carlos Espinola and take gold in the men’s Mistral.Sensini’s daring final race saw her win Italy’s first gold since Agostino Straulino and Niko Rhode won the Star keelboat class in Helsinki in 1952. “I am so happy, this beats everything” said Sensini, who wore a garland of flowers in her hair after the final race. Former world youth champion Lux collapsed in the arms of coach Diederik Bakker after the final race, knowing she had missed gold despite not finishing lower than fourth in 11 races. Lux and Sensini finished equal on 15 points, the Italian winning on a countback with five first placings to Lux’s three. New Zealand’s Barbara Kendall won bronze to complete a full set of medals after her silver in Atlanta and gold in Barcelona. “I didn’t expect ever I could make a medal, now I just think it’s incredible in my first Olympics,” said Lux, who won the junior world title in 1994 and 1995.
A bold gamble and big slice of luck paid off for world champion Sensini, the bronze medallist in Atlanta. Sensini sailed aggressively from the start but lost her lead mid-race to Lux as the pair enjoyed fresh southeasterly wind of up to 15 knots with hundreds of flag-waving fans cheering from spectator boats and the harbour foreshore. After rounding mark five, Sensini sailed close to the harbour’s northern foreshore in the hope of finding more wind. With her arms tiring the Italian fell from her board, which then drifted by itself into a strong gust of wind which scooped out of one of the many small bays around the harbour. The Italian climbed back on board and was catapulted back into the lead. “I was really nervous, that’s why I fell,” Sensini said. Lux fought back but finished seven seconds behind Sensini, who dived into the harbour in celebration.
Austrian Sieber overhauled Espinola in the final two races to win the men’s Mistral. His success came after compatriots Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher wrapped up gold in the Tornado catamaran class on Friday with two races to spare. Sieber was without a major international title before the regatta and started the final two races 10 points behind Espinola, who bagged another silver medal to add to his second placing in Atlanta. Sieber, 29, set up his victory with a fifth placing in race 10, allowing him to discard 23rd and 24th placings from earlier races. This saw him leapfrog Espinola before the start of the final race and he then sailed conservatively knowing he had only to finish in the top 10 to secure the gold medal. Sieber finished seventh in the final race, won by Atlanta gold medallist Nikolaos Kaklamanakis of Greece. New Zealand’s Aaron McIntosh finished fourth to secure the bronze medal. Germany’s Roland Gaebler and Rene Schwall beat their French rivals Pierre Pennec and Yann Guichard to secure the bronze medal in the final race of the Tornado class behind Hagara and Steinacher and Australians Darren Bundock and John Forbes.
http://www.eurosport.com/ -
0 Svar
Tyvärr, inga svar hittades.
Logga in för att svara.