LONDON (Reuters) – Australia took gold in the postponed men’s two-hander 470 sailing class at the London Olympics on Friday with Britain taking silver.
Overall leaders and pre-event favourites Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, triple world champions, edged a tight contest with their British challengers Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell who were lagging just behind going into the title decider.
Patience and Bithell were runners-up to Belcher and Page in the 2011 world championships.
Racing was called off on Thursday because of a lack of wind but the men’s event got under way at 1200 local time (1100 GMT), with the women’s to follow.
The sailors faced different conditions on Friday with the wind for the first time coming from the southeast but Australia mastered it best to prevail.
The gold-medal race, which counted for double points, was held on the spectator-friendly, shore-based Nothe course.
The short course, which has gained a reputation for its unpredictable wind shifts, provided the added element of swell coming from the southeast due to the change in wind direction.
The race for bronze saw Argentina’s Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente deny Italy’s Gabrio Zandona and Pietro Zucchetti.
(Editing by Clare Fallon/Mark Meadows)
