Australian pair Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page stormed to the 470 Men gold medal at Olympic Sailing Regatta in Beijing on Monday.

The Australian duo proved its dominance right from the beginning of the medal race, rounding the first mark with a 12-second advantage over France. The distance was narrowed by the second mark when the France was only five second behind.

The third mark, however, witnessed France drop to the 6th, while Australian crew still maintained its first position, leading Spain with eight-second advantage. They kept the momentum and crossed the finishing line first, securing the first gold medal for Australia at Qingdao Olympic sailing center.

Australians tallied 44 points in total. Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield from Britain took the silver medal, finishing 3rd in the medal race with 75 points. The bronze medal went to French pair Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset with 78 points.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2008)