Laser gold for Goodison
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Article Date: 2008-08-19
View Count: 341
Paul Goodison has won
Laser class gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Qingdao today (Tuesday 19
August).
Four-time European
champion Goodison, who finished fourth on his Olympic debut at Athens 2004, lead
the fleet by 18 points going into today’s double points medal race meaning as
long as the Brit did not finish 10th and last in the race and
second-placed Swede Rasmus Myrgren win it, the
Olympic crown would be Goodison’s.
Goodison
made no mistake in sealing the biggest prize of them all in light winds, sailing
the Swede to the back of the fleet at the start and pinning him there throughout
the race, stopping Myrgren have any chance of reaching the front and threatening
gold.
Goodison
finished the race in ninth and Myrgren 10th for Goodison to be crowned Olympic
champion with 63 points, eight points ahead of silver medallist Vasilij Zbogar
(SLO) with Italian Diego Romero taking bronze. Myrgren finished sixth overall.
Speaking
immediately after the race, Goodison said: “It’s just absolutely amazing, it
might not have been the best way to do it but with the conditions being so
tricky, it was the best way of making sure of gold.
“It’s
been a testing week but I hung in there and delivered yesterday, which made it a
bit easier today.
“You
come to every Olympic Games trying to do your best and fortunately this time I’m
on top of the table. It just feels unbelievable and it’s going to take a while
to sink in, it’s just amazing. With London 2012 just around the corner, it would
be an amazing opportunity to represent Great Britain at an Olympic Games in
Britain.”
Goodison’s is
Britain’s fourth sailing medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with Ben
Ainslie (Finn) and Yngling trio Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson winning
gold on Sunday and Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield clinching 470 men’s silver
yesterday (Monday).
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