Italian woman snatches victory in sailing

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Sydney: Italy's Alessandra Sensini snatched the gold medal in the women's Mistral sailboard class at the Sydney Olympics on Sunday after overtaking German Amelie Lux in a thrilling final race.

Sensini dethroned champion Lee Lai-shan, whose victory at the 1996 Atlanta Games was tiny Hong Kong's first-ever Olympic medal. Lee struggled through the competition and ended up in sixth place.

Sensini started the race a point behind former world youth champion and early series leader Lux. She sailed aggressively in a fresh southeasterly wind of up to 15 knots before Lux caught a windshift and took the lead briefly in mid-race with dozens of flag-waving German fans cheering from the foreshore of Sydney Harbour.

But Sensini, the world champion and bronze medallist in Atlanta four years ago, made a bold gamble after rounding mark five by sailing in close to the harbour's northern foreshore in the hope of finding more wind.

The gamble paid off as she found stronger wind, which scooped out of one of the many small bays around the harbour and the experienced Italian was catapulted back into the lead.

No more than 10 seconds separated the pair as Lux fought back over the next four legs to the finish. Sensini, 30, fell backwards off her board into the harbour after she crossed the finish line seven seconds ahead of Lux. New Zealand's Barbara Kendall finished third in the race to take the bronze medal.

(c) Reuters Limited.