Yngling Trio Win Britain's First Gold

Britain today won its first gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games when Shirley Robertson, Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton triumphed in sailing's Yngling class.

The crew had started the day's racing with a seven-point lead over nearest rivals Denmark, giving them a mathematical chance to secure a gold by the end of the day.

Their ninth race was delayed for more than 30 minutes before they eventually got under way. A strong start put them in third place behind the Ukraine and France at the first mark, with Denmark in fourth.

A slower second lap of the course meant the British boat slipped down to fifth with two markers to go, but the three picked up crucial speed again in the final part of the course, making up two places to finish third. That last manoeuvre proved to be a crucial step towards their gold medal, with the result putting them 10 points clear of Ukraine as they headed into their second race of the day.

Meanwhile, British women's 470 pair Christina Bassadone and Katherine Hopson still have an outside chance of a medal after finishing their ninth race in second place. The pair now lie in sixth place overall, 15 points behind Sweden, who are currently third.

British sailors Nick Rodgers and Joe Glanfield remain on course for at least a sailing silver medal, despite posting a poor 19th place finish in race 10.

Having been in a strong position after race nine, in which they finished 10th, the disappointing placing knocked the duo - racing in the 470 class on the waters of the Saronic Gulf - down to the silver medal position.

Rodgers and Glanfield discarded the score -as they can do with one of their 11 races - but, following an impressive fourth-place finish by nearest rivals the US, they are now two points adrift of Americans Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham heading into the final race on Saturday.

The result will be a huge disappointment to the British pair who, despite not winning a race to date, have been extremely consistent as they posted six top-six finishes in their 10 races.

Gold is still a strong possibility, however, and barring a complete disaster in the last race, the duo's 24-point lead over third-placed Sweden means they should at least claim silver.

Their sturdy performance in the ninth race had left them on course for gold as the US finished in 18th place.

The duo had to wait 12 minutes before the judges were happy with the wind conditions, and made a slow start which put them down in 12th place at the second marker.

A helpful wind allowed them to move rapidly up the standings at the third marker into sixth, but they slipped back down the field in the final stretch, finishing the race two minutes and 41 seconds behind the winners, Croatia.