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Ben on course for gold

13/ 8/2008

GREAT Britain’s great hope for gold, Ben Ainslie, was in prime position for his third Olympic victory after six races.

After winning gold in the Laser event in Sydney and the Finn class in Athens, Ainslie’s bid for a third Olympic title is in good shape.

He heads the field going into the second half of the 11-race competition.

Macclesfield’s sailing icon secured the lead in the Finn Heavyweight Dinghy standings after the sixth stage.

Races seven and eight are to take place today (Wed) with two more scheduled for Thursday.

The final race, in which the top 10 will battle it out for the medals, will be held at Beijing’s Qingdao Sailing Centre on Saturday.

Combating tricky shifting winds, strong tides and hazardous algae, Ainslie has clocked up three first-places and two 10ths in a mixed set of results.

The 31-year-old held a single-point lead over his nearest rival, USA’s Zach Railey, at Tuesday’s rest day as the two opened up a significant lead over the other 24 competitors.

Third-placed Guillaume Florent of France is a further eight points behind the American.

But it’s not been all plain sailing for the competition favourite. He finished in fourth after opting to take a time-consuming penalty turn for a duel with Railey in race three.

He lost more ground in the fourth race when he took his second penalty for an altercation with Railey.

Ainslie was disqualified in a race in Athens after a fellow competitor leapt on the opportunity to make a protest.

In this year’s hard-fought contest, Greece’s top sailor, Emilios Papthanasiou, has already incurred the wrath of the judges and has returned home after he was disqualified.

Eager to avoid a similar fate, Ainslie opted to err on the side of caution.

"Wherever I go anywhere near anybody they start shouting ‘protest’ at me," he said.

"I want to keep my nose clean and so far I have done that.

"He [Railey] had a fantastic opportunity to protest me and probably get me disqualified so I had to take a penalty turn which cost me distance," said Ainslie.

"It’s the Olympics and you try and you do anything you can to get an advantage on your opponent.

"Most of the fleet try and give me a hard time when they can.

"It’s difficult because, in my position, I just want to stay out of trouble and it almost forces you to be too cautious, as I ended up giving away quite a lot of distance.

"But, as I have learnt in the past, you have to keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble."