By Philip O’Connor
ENOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Matthew Belcher and Will Ryan of Australia stormed to victory in the medal race to take gold for Australia in the men’s 470 sailing class at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour on Wednesday.
After a thrilling battle for silver, Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergstrom came out on top while Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez Garcia-Paz picked up the bronze for Spain.
The Australian pair performed brilliantly in the opening series, winning three races and finishing in the top five in nine of the 10 preliminaries to set themselves up for a cruise to gold in a medal race staged in blazing sunshine.
Staying out of trouble at the start, Belcher and Ryan took over at the mid-point of the race and did not look back, crossing the line first to complete a dominant victory in the competition.
The pair, who picked up silver in Rio five years ago, only needed to avoid disqualification in the medal race to win gold as the fleet behind them engaged in a classic tussle.
The Swedes managed to keep pace with the Australians as they made their break, coming out on top in their battle with the Spaniards to finish second in both the medal race as well as in the overall standings to take silver.
The women’s 470 race is set to bring the Olympic regatta to a close later on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
