Tom ASHLEY, also the reigning World Champion, sailed a near flawless Medal Race, finishing third to win a tight three-way contest for gold. It is the first Olympic gold medal in sailing won by New Zealand since Barbara KENDALL’s victory in the Women’s Windsurfer event at Barcelona 1992. Frenchman Julien BONTEMPS finished one place behind ASHLEY in today’s Medal Race to take silver, whilst Israel’s Shahar ZUBARI edged out Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) to win bronze, winning the first medal for Israel at this Olympic Games.

Since finishing 10th in Athens as a 20 year old, ASHLEY has matured into a world beater on the windsurfing scene, a status he confirmed earlier this year with World Championship success on his home waters in New Zealand. In a fleet in which many competitors have a big performance differential in different wind conditions, his all-round ability has proved crucial this week and brought him the Olympic gold medal.

"I've done it! It's the most incredible feeling and I can't begin to tell you how I feel right now," ASHLEY commented on returning to the boat park. ASHLEY, who is coached by Grant BECK (NZL), an instrumental figure the three previous medal wins of KENDALL, added that his Olympic success is the end of a long road, "I’ve been working toward this for so many years. It was an insanely tough Medal Race," he said. "The weather had a little bit of everything. I tried to sail as consistently as I could."

Yesterday ASHLEY had had his worst race of the regatta after getting caught on the wrong side of a big wind shift and finishing down in the 32nd place. That had dropped him from first to third overall, although he was still just one point off the lead and knew that if he could finish ahead of BONTEMPS and DEMPSEY today and not let ZUBARI get too far ahead, the gold medal would be his.

In a 7 knot southeasterly breeze, Hong Kong’s light wind specialist King Yin CHAN lead around the course with ASHLEY close behind him. ZUBARI didn’t get the best of start but revelled in the lighter shifty airs and flat seas - sailing conditions he loves. The young star, showed why he got the better of Athens gold medallist Gal FRIDMAN (ISR) in the Israeli selection trials for Qingdao, overhauling ASHLEY to finish second in the Medal Race and secure the bronze medal as DEMPSEY struggled further back.

"I feel so happy. I‘m only 20 and I feel like a superstar. I was lucky to have the wind on my side today. When I finished, I counted back and realised I had won bronze. I was crazy with joy," ZUBARI said.

BONTEMPS, who held the overall lead going into the race, didn’t get the best of starts, but unlike ZUBARI failed to pull through the fleet. However by maintaining a steady mid-fleet position and eventually crossing the line in fourth place he ensured the silver medal was his.

DEMPSEY meanwhile never recovered from a poor start and eventually crossing the line in seventh, dropping from second overall to fourth and out of the medals.

Overall Results - click here

Julien BONTEMPS (FRA), ranked #4 in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, has timed his move to the top of the RS:X Men‘s fleet at just the right time; one day before the Medal Race.

The French sailor had been sitting in the top five and moved to third Monday. In a light-wind race 10 on Tuesday, a third place was enough to give him an advantage going into the Medal Race. However with points scores in the Medal Race doubled his one-point lead counts for nothing if either Athens bronze medallist Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) or reigning World Champion Tom ASHLEY (NZL) finish ahead of him.

BONTEMPS is looking forward to tomorrow’s race, "I feel very good. I knew I could do something here after winning world class regattas in 2006 and 2007. I've just kept the same strategies and motivation," he said.

With the British team performing well, DEMPSEY clung to second overall with a fifth place today. He knows all about performing under pressure having won his bronze medal in Athens thanks to a win in the final race. “I’ve just got to sail my own race,” DEMPSEY said. “The top three are effectively on equal points and the next person is only just behind. So it’s really a case of keeping it tight and making sure I beat those three people.”

“It will be a case of sailing the first beat, seeing where you are, and assessing the situation at the turn,” he added.

New Zealander ASHLEY dropped from the lead to third on countback to DEMPSEY after scoring his worst result so far, a 32nd place.

"I had a bad day - not good on the second upwind leg. But it's not the end of the world. We’ll see tomorrow," said ASHLEY.

Shahar ZUBARI (ISR) also still has his eye on the gold and is the dark horse in tomorrow’s Medal Race. The Israeli sailor led the regatta for some days, but fell of the pace in the bigger winds. He bounced back Tuesday with a fourth place in the lighter conditions and is only nine points off the lead. If tomorrow’s forecasted light winds arrive, he could well spring a big surprise.

The first of tomorrow’s RS:X Medal Races are scheduled to start at 13:00 local time.

Overall Results – click here

The New Zealander maintained his consistent form in two races on Monday, although Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) cut his overall lead down to just three points. Julien BONTEMPS (FRA) is also right in the hunt for gold, just one point behind DEMPSEY in third place overall.

The RS:X fleets got off to an early start today to make the most of the breezier conditions in the morning. The first race began in full planing conditions with strong westerly of 20 knots, whilst race 9 was held in more margin planing conditions, with the wind around 8-13 knots. Tom ASHLEY (NZL), who posted scores of 6, 8, today, said from now on in he was going to have to be very watchful of his rivals, "The points are really close at the top of our fleet, so I have to watch my opponents and select my sailing lanes carefully," he said.

BONTEMPS said he was "having fun" and ready to fight for a medal.

Others in contention for a medal at this stage include Shahar ZUBARI (ISR) whose light wind superiority had him in the regatta lead until two days ago. Ricardo SANTOS (BRA) is fifth.

Tomorrow the Men‘s fleet will sail the final race of Opening Series from which the top ten will go through to the Medal Race on Wednesday. 

Overall Results – click here

“Epic sailing conditions!” was how Tom ASHLEY (NZL) described the day eight in Qingdao. The New Zealander won last year’s Test Event in Qingdao and is also the reigning World Champion. He showed why on Sunday, moving from fourth overall to first with airborne sailing in the lumpy seas. In an easterly breeze of 16 knots which increased to above 20 knots for the second race, Casper BOUMAN (NED) showed why he’s a renowned heavy-air specialist with two race wins. However BOUMAN had struggled in the light wind conditions earlier in the series and even with two bullets only lies 14th overall.

ASHLEY though is quick in both light and heavier wind, giving him a distinct advantage over some of his rivals at the top of the leaderboard. Up until Saturday the series was led by Shahar ZUBARI (ISR). He started the day well finishing race 6 just behind ASHLEY in sixth place, but as the wind increased his performance dipped and he crossed the line 19th in race 7 to drop to third overall. It was an even worse day for Hong Kong’s King Yin CHAN, second overall going into Sunday’s race. CHAN clearly struggled in the breezy conditions with finishes of 33rd and 21st sending him tumbling down the leaderboard to fifth overall. Julien BONTEMPS (FRA), showed that like ASHLEY he is strong in all conditions with an eighth and a second place lifting him up to second overall.

Although it turned out to be a great day for ASHLEY, it didn’t get off the best start as he struggled at the first start. “The first race got off to a pretty bad beginning as I chose the wrong end of the start line and struggled to get going on the first upwind I passed a bunch of boards on the first downwind and a couple more on each leg to end up fifth in the race, just ahead of rivals ZUBARI and Nick DEMPSEY [(GBR)],” revealed the New Zealander.

The second race of the day, race 7 of the Men’s RS:X Opening Series ran a little smoother for the new overall leader, “The second race went much better for me. I had a great start and was with the leaders for the whole race, sailing conservatively and not having to take any risks to catch up. I rounded the top mark seventh and improved to third as the race went on and a few guys made mistakes,” said ASHLEY.

The final three races of the Opening Series are scheduled for tomorrow starting at 11:00 to make the most of the breezier conditions forecast for the morning.

Overall Results – click here

Friday was a day of better breezes in Qingdao but it was not enjoyed by Men’s RS:X series leader Shahar ZUBARI (ISR) who scored his worst result of the series with a 17th. The Israeli sailor maintains his lead, however, courtesy of excluding his race 5 score and his pair of wins and thirds in races 1 to 4.

Despite not having a great day, ZUBARI remains confident: "You need a strong mind and a strong heart - I have both," he said. 

Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) won his first race of the series but it was not enough to topple the leader. The Briton, who is now third overall, said: "It was a frustrating day because of the weather. We started out with 12 knots, but then the wind died. Eventually we got 7-12 knots and it was gusty and shifty, but it was quite straightforward."

King Yin CHAN from Hong Kong kept up his good performance with a third to hang on to second place overall. He is now six points behind the leader and counting all top-five finishes.

Forecasters say the next two days will see similar breezes as to those the fleet of 35 experienced today (5-12 knots), and it will be interesting to see if ZUBARI can keep his lead.

New Zealand’s World Champion Tom ASHLEY enjoyed another good day, but his fifth was not enough to keep him in third place. He drops down one place to fourth.

"I was lucky today," he said, just two points behind DEMPSEY and in with a good chance of a gold medal.

Another strong performer today was Aichen WANG of China, who finished second in race 5 to climb up to sixth overall. Three races are scheduled for the Men's RS:X tomorrow.

Overall Results – click here

The 21 year old world #14 was not one of the favourites coming into the Olympics and has raised eyebrows with his sizzling performances so far

"I like my dark horse status. I am quite young and the other sailors in the class have much more experience than me. Right now I am focused on each race from the start, and each leg for itself," Shahar ZUBARI said.

Hong Kong’s King Yin CHAN held on to second place overall with second and fifth places, but Aichen WANG (CHN) fell from third to seventh, a disastrous 16th in the soft, shifty breezes letting him down.

CHAN's coach Rene APPEL (NED) said: "To me, he was not very consistent today. Although he is still ranked number two, I am not satisfied. A good coach won't be quickly satisfied. I coached Lai Shan LEE (1996 Hong Kong Olympic gold medal winner) in 1996. I know what good sailors are. CHAN is definitely one of them."

Reigning World Champion Tom ASHLEY (NZL) moved up with a win in race 2 into third overall but lies 11 points behind the leader. "It wasn't as shifty as I expected. Today was about not doing anything stupid," the 23 year old said. After winning last year’s Test Event, ASHLEY knows what it takes to succeed in Qingdao. "The first half of the regatta is about trying to minimize mistakes. If you can get through that without a bad discard then you can go ahead and sail harder in the second half."

ASHLEY's main threats moved up the leaderboard too. Julien BONTEMPS (FRA) and Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) are right behind him in fourth and fifth.

The rest of the field have hard work ahead of them. Sixth-placed Maxim OBEREMKO (UKR) is on 32 points - 24 behind ZUABARI and the Olympic Format only allows one race score to be excluded from the Opening Series total (after five races are completed). World #1 Przemyslaw MIARCZYNSKI (POL) is way back in 19th place with 85 points.

The RS:X windsurfers take a break on Wednesday and return for races 5 and 6 of the Opening Series on Thursday.

Overall Results – click here

Aged just 21, Shahar ZUBARI (ISR) is one of the rising stars of the RS:X class and beat Athens windsurfing gold medallist Gal FRIDMAN (ISR) to selection for Israel’s team for Beijing. Whilst he’s a relatively new name at the top of the fleet he demonstrated his ability with a bronze medal finish at the Worlds in New Zealand in January this year.

Spectators were able to watch the RS:X boards up close as they sailed on Course A, which is right in front of the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center. In light and shifty airs, ZUBARI made a strong start and then pulled through the fleet, overtaking China’s Aichen WANG to win race 1. In race 2 he found himself buried at the start but continued to pick up places through the race, eventually coming in third. 

King Yin CHAN from Hong Kong lies second overall after 5,4 scores with China’s WANG third.

Both CHAN and WANG pointed to their starts as key to their success today. WANG beat the experienced Yuanguo ZHOU to selection for the Chinese team in Qingdao, and appears to be comfortable in the Olympic arena. "I followed my coach‘s advice. I also benefited from the Qingdao venue. Since it's my first Olympics, my team leader doesn‘t put any pressure on me, so I feel very relaxed sailing at the Olympics," he said.

Other strong performances came from reigning World Champion and last year’s Test Event winner Tom ASHLEY (NZL), Greece’s two-time Olympic medallist Nikolas KAKLAMANAKIS (GRE) and Julien BONTEMPS of France, who won race 2.

Two races are to be sailed from 13:00 on Tuesday.

Overall Results – click here