Ben Ainslie added another gold to his medal collection as Great
Britain's sailing team enjoyed more success in Athens.
The 27-year-old overcame tricky conditions on the final day of the Finn class
competition to win his third medal overall - he won silver in Atlanta back in
1996 and gold in Sydney four years later.
It marked another great day for the sailing team, with Nick Rodgers and Joe
Glanfield also claiming silver in the 470 class, a result which takes Team GB's
sailing medal haul to four.
It might be argued by sailing purists that his victory in Athens makes him
Great Britain's most successful Olympic single-handed sailor.
Rodney Patterson claimed two golds and one silver from 1968-76 but he won his
medals in the same flying Dutchman class, while Ainslie has done it in different
boats - Laser in Atlanta and Sydney and now the Finn in Athens.
Even more remarkable though is the fact that Ainslie was lying in 19th place
after two races following a disqualification brought about by the late protest
of Frenchman Frenchman Guillaume.
The Briton dominated the event from that moment on, using it as a spark to
drive his mission and he admitted his success is the greatest comeback of his
career.
"Absolutely, no doubt. After the first day I was pretty devastated," said
Ainslie.
"There were two ways I could have dealt with things at that point. One was to
stay depressed and not move on, or turn things around and I'm really pleased
with myself. I was able to dig deep and bring it back.
"It's amazing. I can't quite believe it after all the things that have
happened this week. To come back and win gold is just brilliant."
Ainslie played down the comparisons with Patterson, but the delight in his
achievements was clear to see.
"Well I've always had a huge amount of admiration for Rodney Patterson and as
you say we are equal now," he said.
"I don't know about changing boats and all that kind of stuff, I'm just happy
to have won the medals that I have. That's all I can say really.
"I'm delighted with the way it's gone, especially today."
Ainslie eased over the finish line alongside his closest rival Rafael Trujillo
of Spain, but although the two medal winners exchanged smiles and a chat across
the water Ainslie looked subdued at first.
He later revealed that the combination of the pressure of being favourite and
not getting in the way of Trujillo's bid for silver had made him tense.
"It was kind of hard because everyone was putting me down as a dead cert but
I knew 14 points cannot be very much of a lead especially with the wind as light
as it was, so I was actually pretty tense," he said.
"Things didn't go exactly to plan today because the wind was so light and
it's very tricky when it's like that.
"But I was just trying to keep a close eye on Rafa [Trujillo] and he was
actually in front of me in the beginning so there were a few tense moments.
"When I crossed the line I was just explaining to Rafa that I had to stay
close to him.
"I wasn't trying to slow him down or make life difficult for him. I wasn't
apologising, just telling him why I had to stay close to him and he understood
that."
Another medal in Beijing in 2008 would undoubtedly put Ainslie in a class of
his own, if indeed he already isn't.
And the Briton admitted the prospect of heading to China with Team GB in four
years is one which appeals to him.
"I'd love to be there," he said. "We'll see what happens in the next three
years but I'd love to be in Beijing if it's possible."
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