OLYMPIC hero Ben Ainslie stormed to victory in the latest round of the World Match Racing Tour.

Ainslie’s Team Origin took first place in the second series, held in Lake Constance, Germany, and currently occupy fourth place in the standings, despite not competing in the first event.

The triple Olympic gold medallist headed the standings, and emphatically beat last year’s winner, France’s Damien Iehl, in the final.

The Maxonian suffered an uncharacteristically slow start with three defeats on the first day of race action, but an excellent performance in the latter stages saw him edge out his rivals, including Britain’s world champion Ian Williams.

Ainslie’s match racing experience has been restricted by his glittering career in Olympic competition.

Last year he won his third sailing gold at the Games in Beijing, sealing his status as arguably the world’s greatest sailor.

Team Origin will compete in just half of the remaining eight events in the 2009 series.