Olympic gold medal for another Hampshire sailor (From Daily Echo)

Olympic gold medal for another Hampshire sailor

7:43am Thursday 21st August 2008 in

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HAMPSHIRE sailor Iain Percy has increased Britain's medal haul at the Olympics this morning after winning gold in the Star class.

The 32-year-old Southampton-born sailor and his teammate Andrew Simpson went into the medal race trailing Swedish fleet leaders Frederik Loof and Anders Ekstrom by just two points, needing to come in the top eight to pick up a medal.

But in a nail-biting finale to the week's racing, the former student of Peter Symonds College in Winchester pipped the Swedes at the line following a tense downwind leg to the finish.

Percy adds the medal, the sixth won by Team GB's sailors, to the gold he won in the Finn class in 2000.

Speaking after the race, Percy said: "It was such a tough race, but I knew we wouldn't bottle it and we didn't. It has been a really tough four years but it feels great to be on top of the world again."

It means Britain has now won four gold medals at the Olympic regatta as well as four silver medals and one bronze.

After the race triple gold medalist from Lymington Ben Ainslie said: "It's fantastic for the whole team.

"It's a special moment. For those guys to go out there and do what they did is unbelievable.

"Its a perfect way to end. I'm so happy for everyone in the team it could not have happen to a couple of better blokes."