QINGDAO, China (AP) Australia scored double gold in Olympic sailing Monday, with Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page winning in the men's double-handed 470 dinghies and the duo of Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson claiming the top spot in the same boat for women.
In the men's 470s, Britain's Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield took the silver, and Nicolas Charbonnier of Olivier Bausset of France won the bronze. In the women's 470, the Dutch team of Marcelien De Koning and Lobke Berkhout clinched the silver, with Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Isabel Swan taking the bronze.
Wilmot and Page had the medal wrapped up on overall points ahead of the final, making their win of Monday's medal race seem more like a 28-minute victory lap.
"We didn't have to do what we did today. We were relaxed, we had a bit of fun, and it was all right," Page told the AP after the victory. "That's the art of it, but it's a bit harder to do when there's high pressure."
"I was looking forward to getting it over and done with, getting a medal around the neck, and then really relaxing," said Wilmot.
Rogers, of the British silver medalist pair, said he pleased to do well after a weak start in the preliminary series.
"It's been really stressful. It's a long event, which I'm glad we got it over and done with and got a silver, which looked a long, long way off," he said.
The Australian women also had a virtually unassailable 18-point lead over the Dutch after the 10 race series leading into the medal race, which count's double. They finished ninth out of the 10-boat field that made it to the finals, good enough to secure the gold.
Medal races in the men's Laser and the Laser Radial for women were set for Tuesday.