PLAIN SAILING
Britain dominate the seas as Scott secures second gold
British sailing has known plenty of historic moments, but rarely has that old saying about ruling the waves felt more appropriate than during an extraordinary two hours here in Enoshima Yacht Harbour.
“We own it!” said Giles Scott, who is not a man associated with hyperbole, as he reflected not just on his own second Olympic gold medal but a sequence of six consecutive British victories in the Finn class on its final appearance at the summer Games.
No other nation has won the event in the 21st century and, to follow Iain Percy’s triumph in 2000 and Sir Ben Ainslie’s treble from 2004 until 2012, now comes Scott with a double.
It was delivered exactly an hour after Team GB’S thrilling 49er gold – a first in that class – and exactly an hour before John Gimson and Anna Burnet won a silver in the mixed Nacra 17.
With windsurfer Emma Wilson having won bronze on Saturday and Hannah Mills and Eilidh Mcintyre sure of adding another medal in the 470 class in the early hours of this morning, British Sailing will surpass its tallies from Rio and London.
“This closes it out,” Scott said. “There is such heritage in the Finn and it’s a shame it’s leaving the Games. Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie are legends. They were my heroes growing up.”
Scott had won six out of 10 races during this regatta and believes that he has never sailed better but, due to the nuances of the Olympic scoring system, was guaranteed gold only in the last 20 metres of an extraordinary medal race.
“It was mine to lose,” said Scott – and he almost did just that before the race had begun.
Fearing that he had crossed the start line prematurely, Scott opted to willingly take an immediate punishment by turning full circle back on himself and duly left himself
‘I made it by the skin of my teeth. I tried to relax but I’ve never been in a race as close as that’
with a mountain to climb for the rest of the race.
His main rival, Hungary’s Zsombor Berecz, had immediately surged into the lead and, with the medal race carrying double points, Scott needed to urgently sail through the field to at least fifth to retain his title. “I made the call – and then I had quite a lot on,” he said. “If it had been any other race there was no way I’d go back.”
What followed was a masterful performance under pressure. With a mark to go, Scott had risen to sixth, before delivering when it was most needed to surge past two more boats in the final metres for fourth. He later admitted that, for much of the race, he thought he had blown gold. “I never gave up and always kept pushing, but I’m a realist and I can count,” he said.
“That’s the greatest pressure of my career. It climbed throughout the race. I made it by the skin of my teeth. I tried to stay relaxed but I’ve never been involved in a boat race as close as that.”
Scott, who is also a four-time world and three-time European champion in the Finn, had combined his preparation for Tokyo by sailing with Ainslie in the America’s Cup, where he was the tactician for Team Ineos in Auckland between September and March.
It had meant an especially disjointed build-up, with him finishing only ninth at the World Championships, but he still peaked when it mattered and, aside from this major late scare, he dominated the competition.
His wider impact on the British sailors clearly also feels significant.
“He’s the big man, gold medallist, super chilled guy but very, very talented sailor,” said Stuart Bithell, who had earlier won 49er gold with Dylan Fletcher.
Gimson and Burnet’s later silver in the mixed Nacra 17 class came in the former’s first Olympic Games – at the age of 38.
Gimson had twice seen his previous sailing classes – the Tornado and the Star – dropped from the Games. The pair were world champions and Burnet, who clearly knows exactly what Gimson has sacrificed to keep pursuing an Olympic dream, looked as thrilled for her sailing partner as she was for herself.
“I’ve done it for 20 years to get here and it’s been worth every minute,” Gimson said. “Twice my discipline got dropped as a class. As a youngster, having done one cycle, I was ready to go for my campaign for the Games and it was dropped at the start of the cycle.
“The second time, I’d sold my house and had literally no money. At that point, I was questioning my life decisions, but it was all worth it. All of it.”
Burnet was moved just listening to Gimson’s journey. “John’s someone who’s the most deserving of an Olympic medal of anyone I’ve ever known – and I’m so happy to help him achieve that,” she said.