Yin Jian win's host nation's first sailing gold

By Associated Press Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - Added 1m ago QINGDAO, China - Chinese windsurfer Yin Jian won her country’s first-ever sailing gold on Wednesday, while New Zealander Tom Ashley took the most precious medal in the RS:X class for men. Yin, a silver medalist in Athens four years ago, won gold in the RS:X by the narrowest possible margin, just one point ahead of silver medalist Alessandra Sensini of Italy after 11 races, including the final that counts double. Britain’s Bryony Shaw, who won last year’s test event in Qingdao, took bronze. The thousands of Chinese fans on the shore in Qingdao, the sailing venue about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Beijing, went into a flag waving frenzy when it became clear that Yin’s third-place finish in the medal race was enough to claim the gold. "Is it real? Is it real?... [read full story]