August 19, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 16, 1429

QINGDAO (China), Aug 18; Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page won Olympic gold in their farewell race in the 470 dinghy on Monday, handing Australia their first medal of the Games regatta.

The pair, 12th in Athens four years ago, held such an advantage after their 10-race opening series that they only had to make a genuine attempt to start the medal race to be assured of gold under racing rules.

They won the title in style, though, finishing clear of their rivals.

Britain’s Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield won silver and France’s Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset took bronze.

Wilmot, 28, and Page, 36, announced earlier this year they would retire from 470 dinghy sailing after the Beijing Games, saying they were fed up of constantly dieting.

Page did leave the door open for a 2012 campaign on Monday, but said his first priority was to head for the dining hall.

“We’re going to have a nice buffet with lots of food. We plan on getting fat and as far as another Olympics go, we’ll have to wait and see,” Page told reporters.

Consistency throughout the regatta had put the triple world champions in a commanding position. They failed to win one of the 10 preliminary races but had seven top-five placings.

Australia failed to win a sailing medal in Athens, prompting an overhaul of the country’s elite sailing set-up and the implementation of a “Gold Medal Plan” for future Games.

Dutch brothers Sven and Kalle Coster began the day in silver position but ended up out of the medals after finishing seventh in the medal race, in which double points are scored.—Reuters