Tunnicliffe radiant in Laser Radial win

(QINGDAO, August 18) -- Anna Tunnicliffe of the United States staged a stunning and dramatic comeback to claim the Laser Radial (Women's One Person Dinghy) gold medal from rising star Gintare Volungeviciute of Lithuania in light and shifty winds before a packed crowd on Tuesday afternoon.

In the box seat going into today's race, Tunnicliffe, the World No.1 Laser Radial sailor, made a dive for the windward end of the crowded start line and, in doing so, crossed early and had to return and restart.

That created easy picking for Volungeviciute who finished with Silver and Xu Lijia of China who took bronze.

With the US sailor out of the back door, China took the early lead, but it was not long before the Lithuanian had the upper hand. Choosing the opposite side of the course to Xu, Volungeviciute led around the first windward mark. Although Xu stayed in close touch, she never caught her rival.

As the leaders reached the last mark of the course, Sarah Blanck of Australia, also in medal contention, caught a shift and made her way to third place, but she needed to pass Xu to win bronze. Then, out of ninth place appeared Tunnicliffe, who had gone to the left side of the course. She came through to finish the race in second place.

"I had a really bad start. It was very hard to focus when my competitors were gaining points on me," said Tunnicliffe after her victory. "At the last mark, I saw a big puff at the left side of the course, and I said to myself, 'I already have a medal, so why don't I give it a try?' I went to the left and moved to the front of the fleet."

"I'm very excited. This is phenomenal. It is absolutely unbelievable," she said about winning gold. "This is my first Olympics and first medal. I've been wanting this for many years. It is a dream come true."

Volungeviciute may have missed gold, but she won the race, the silver and created Olympic history as the first Lithuanian sailor to win an Olympic medal.

"I won the race today. I'm very proud of myself. I'm also very happy to get the first Olympic sailing medal for my country," said Volungeviciute. "I have to say Anna is the strongest. I'm very satisfied with my result. I want to thank my coach. He's been with me for 12 years. Without him, I would not be here today."

Because Xu stayed calm she kept Blanck at bay in fourth place, the same rank as in Athens.