One Person Dinghy (Laser), Men

Eleven races were scheduled in Laser but only 10 could be held due to a lack of wind on 14 August. Brazil’s Robert Scheidt had won the gold medal in this event in 1996 and 2004, and then added the 2005 World Championship, his eighth World title in the class. He left this class wide-open, however, when he then switched over to the Star class, in which he won a silver medal in Qingdao. Britain’s Paul Goodison, who had been second to Scheidt at the 2005 World Championship and was a four-time European Champion, came through to win the Laser gold medal in 2008, taking a big lead into the medal race. Leading comfortably over Sweden’s Rasmus Myrgren, Goodison only had to avoid finishing last, and having Myrgren win the race, to win gold. Goodison engaged in a match race with Myrgren, preventing him from passing and pushing him back into last place, as Goodison finished ninth. This dropped Myrgren down to sixth overall, and clinched gold for Goodison. The beneficiary of this battle was Slovenian Vasilij Žbogar, who moved up to the silver medal after winning a bronze medal in Laser in 2004.