Thursday, August 23, 2007

Tunniclffe takes Gold in China


World #1 Anna Tunniclffe (USA) secured the USA’s only medal, a gold in the Laser Radial. The Radial fleet got the day's Medal Racing underway and although Tunniclffe came in last in the Medal Race, her 11-point cushion going into the race was enough for her to hold on to gold.

Tunniclffe's only rival for gold was Jo Aleh (NZL) and the American never allowed the Kiwi out of her sight. 'I went into today’s race with my primary goal being to slow Jo Aleh down as much as possible, and I succeeded in doing that,' revealed Tunniclffe. 'My start did not go as well as I would have hoped, but Jo had a slow start as well. I worked up behind her, and started forcing her to tack out. I forced Jo to sail at a slow pace, and she had no momentum at all during the first upwind. I ensured that we stayed far enough from the rest of the fleet that she could not catch up at all. Although Joe managed to make up some room on the downwind side, I worked up behind her again and continued to carry out my plan.'