WEYMOUTH, England (AP) — The best sailor in Olympic history has never done it the easy way.
On a heartstopping afternoon on Weymouth Bay, Ben Ainslie had to sweat it out a bit before beginning to celebrate in front of his countrymen lining the seashore, cheering and waving the Union Jack.
Ainslie might roll his eyes at being called Britain’s greatest sailor since Admiral Lord Nelson. But there’s no denying he’s the most successful sailor in Olympic history.
After trailing the entire regatta, Ainslie was spot-on with his tactics and got a little help from the front of the fleet to win the Finn class gold medal on a pleasant Sunday. It’s his fourth straight gold and fifth straight games medal overall, eclipsing Denmark’s Paul Elvstrom, who won four straight gold medals from 1948-60.
Ainslie, the son of a sailor, pumped both fists, then stood up in his dinghy and pumped them again.
