One Person Heavyweight Dinghy (Finn), Men

Ben Ainslie came to Weymouth looking for a fifth consecutive sailing medal, and his fourth consecutive gold. He had won this event in 2004 and 2008, and was Laser class champion at Sydney in 2000, after placing second in that class in 1996. But he had a tense battle over five days with 2006 and 2009 Finn World Champion Jonas Høgh Christensen of Denmark.

Høgh Christensen opened up on the first day by winning both races, with Ainslie second. He defeated Ainslie twice more on the second day, and then had another race win on day three. Ainslie finished only third and fourth in day three but moved into second place overall, as he moved ahead of France’s Jonathan Lobert. Ainslie won the first race of day four and then defeated Høgh Christensen again in the second race on that day, although the Dane and Dutchman Pieter-Jan Postma accused him of touching a mark near the end, costing him a penalty turn. On the final day, Høgh Christensen opened his lead over Ainslie to four, but Ainslie won the second race of the day to move ahead before the medal race. In the medal race, Ainslie focused only on staying ahead of Høgh Christensen, and did so, placing ninth to the Dane’s 10th, assuring himself of a fourth straight gold medal. Lobert won the medal race to move ahead of Postma and take the bronze medal. Postma actually challenged for the top spot in the medal race, but at the last buoy he hit the camera on another boat, forcing him to take a penalty lap and dropping him off the podium.

Ainslie equaled the feat of another Dane, Paul Elvstrøm, who won the Finn class in 1952-60. Elvstrøm also won the one-person dinghy in 1948, but the boat was slightly different, racing in the Firefly that year, however, he is usually credited with four straight gold medals in the same class. Only Ainslie and Elvstrøm have won four gold medals in sailing, and Ainslie’s fifth sailing medal equaled the most in the sport, held by Brazil’s pair of Robert Scheidt, who had earlier achieved this in London, and Torben Grael.