WINDSURFER Yin Jian pumped and glided her way to a first sailing gold for China yesterday when she denied Italian Alessandra Sensini a second Olympic board title.
Yin, 29, went one better than in Athens four years ago, a third-place finish in the medal race was enough to secure gold and cue frenetic celebrations at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center.
An ecstatic Yin punched the air in triumph after crossing the finish before being mobbed by her support team. She donned a half-gold, half-red jacket before being towed up and down the main breakwater to applause from a large gathering of Chinese fans.
“For four years I’ve been working towards this goal and that helped me to press on today,” Yin said.
“For me, to get this gold medal, was very, very difficult. As an older athlete, I have gone through a lot of injuries and illness.
“The reason I’ve reached this today is because of the support of my family, friends and leaders.”
The 38-year-old Sensini took silver to add to her gold in Sydney in 2000 and bronze in 1996 and 2004. Briton Bryony Shaw won bronze.
China had previously won two Olympic silver medals in windsurfing Zhang Xiaodong in 1992 and Yin in 2004. Windsurfer Lee “San-San” Lai-shan won Hong Kong’s first ever Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996, the year before the then British colony returned to China.
In the men’s medal race, New Zealand’s Tom Ashley neck and neck on points with France’s Julien Bontemps and Britain’s Nick Dempsey at the start snatched gold in a gruelling race which had the windsurfers desperately “air rowing” in the light breeze.
Bontemps took silver, while the bronze went to Israel’s Shahar Zubari. The Israeli finished second in the medal race and thus made up his points deficit with Dempsey, who came in a disappointing seventh and ended fourth overall. (SD-Agencies)