Team GB strike double sailing gold as Scott defends Olympic crown and Fletcher and Bithell win epic photo finish
GREAT BRITAIN have clinched TWO sailing golds on Tuesday morning to take the country’s overall Games total to 13. Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell took victory in the men’s 49er before Giles Scott won gold in the Finn class on a sensational morning for Team GB. Former Bill child star Fletcher and crew Bithell nicked […]
GREAT BRITAIN have clinched TWO sailing golds on Tuesday morning to take the country’s overall Games total to 13.
Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell took victory in the men’s 49er before Giles Scott won gold in the Finn class on a sensational morning for Team GB.
Former Bill child star Fletcher and crew Bithell nicked their Olympic gold medal – by just a second.
Fletcher and Bithell had to beat New Zealanders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke by two places in the 49er skiff medal race to take top spot.
And that is exactly what they did after a nail-biting race to the finish which saw the British boat and bronze-chasing Germany attacking the finish line from completely different angles.
The two arrow-heads were tapering to the finish line, bouncing across the waves of Enoshima Bay.
But Fletcher and Bithell got there by no more than six feet to spark scenes of unbridled joy on their boat.
The duo hugged each other wildly, their exhilaration absolutely clear.
And Scott made it a golden double just one hour later as he sailed into the Olympic sunset with an incredible sixth successive gold in the class for Great Britain.
The defending champion followed the 49er of Fletcher and Bithell to the top of the podium as he kept closest rival Zsombor Berecz of Hungary just within his sights.
But it was a real squeak as Scott made up two places in the final sprint to the line to finish fourth and deny the Hungarian the title.
Meanwhile Fletcher – one of three GB athletes to win sailing gold on Tuesday – was a child actor, appearing in The Bill and other shows, while his parents were ballet dancers and his father appeared in Cats.
Bithell, by contrast, grew up in Rochdale and learned to sail on the tiny Hollingworth Lake in the Pennine town.
Fletcher was sixth in the 49er in Rio while Bithell, who took silver in the 470 class in London, failed to make the 2016 team.
But all that frustration disappeared as they claimed GB’s 12th gold of Tokyo 2020, with the Kiwis second and Germany edging out Spain for third.
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Meanwhile, Fletcher and Bithell were overcome with emotion after their victory, laughing maniacally as the crewman smashed his palm against the deck.
Fletcher told Bithell it had been an “incredible campaign”, adding: “Come on! Oh my God! I can’t believe it.”
Bithell, told to “get that flag out” by his partner, stood with the Union Jack flying in the breeze as he claimed GB’s 29th sailing gold, nine more than any other nation.
Fletcher revealed: “I had a dream last night. I was told I’d won a medal and I asked ‘Did we? What colour was it?’ And then I woke up…”
And there was a third medal in the waters of Enoshima Bay as John Gimson and Anne Burnet took silver in the mixed twin hull Nacra 17 class after finishing fifth in their medal race.
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