Olympics: Ainslie Makes Move and Surges Into Finn Lead

Ben Ainslie, the reigning Olympic champion in the Finn class, increased his chances of defending the title after moving to the front of the field at the sailing regatta in Fushan Bay. He now leads the American pace-setter Zach Railey by one point, having begun day three of his campaign to become Britain's most successful Olympic sailor five points adrift in second.

The 31-year-old swept to victory in the first race of the day, number five overall, despite making the turn at halfway in ninth place, 55 seconds off the front. However, a stunning comeback saw him edge out the Brazilian Eduardo Couto for his third win of the competition. Ainslie's 10th place finish in race six allowed Railey - who could only manage a seventh and an eighth today - to move back to within a point, but, as in previous Games, the momentum has begun to shift in the Briton's direction.

In the Yngling, the British trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson remained at the top of the standings after another pair of solid performances. Despite being yet to win a race, the reigning two-time world champions have consistently finished near the front, and they collected a fourth and a second in races five and six this morning. They now have 15 points, three ahead of the Netherlands, who finished first and fifth today.

However, there was disappointment for Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes in the 49er class, who slipped from first to ninth after a poor set of results. The 2007 world champions held a one-point lead over Italy after the first three races yesterday but finished 14th in race four and 15th in the next two races to fall well down the standings. With 41 points from six races they trail the first-placed Australian boat of Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin by 28.

The British windsurfer Bryony Shaw, winner of last year's Olympic test event in Qingdao, is third in the RS:X women's category after posting a fourth and third in her first two races. Shaw has collected seven points so far, five back of China's Yin Jian. Nick Dempsey has plenty of ground to make up in the RS:X men's category after placing ninth and 11th to lie in ninth place overall.

Meanwhile, the British men's 470 crew of Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield were a lowly 19th after a disappointing start in race one but improved to fifth in race two to move up to 10th in the overall standings with 24 points, 15 behind leaders France. The Irish pair of Ger Owens and Philip Lawton claimed victory in race two to move up to eighth with 23 points. Meanwhile, Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark jumped from 13th to ninth after an eighth-place finish in the second race of the women's event.