Anna Tunnicliffe from the United States on Tuesday won Laser Radial gold at Olympic Sailing Regatta in co-host city Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province.

Having already been in the box seat going into the medal race, World No. 1 Tunnicliffe, with a seven-point advantage over her nearest rival, started with 8th and 9th finishes by the first and second mark respectively. She rebounded to 3rd by the third mark and kept the rhythm till the finishing line, gaining 37 points overall.

Gintare Volungeviciute from Lithuania, finishing first in the medal race, took the silver with 42 points.

World No. 2 Xu Lijia came out strongly in the medal race, keeping 4th position through all the marks. With 50 points overall, she claimed bronze, which is also China's first ever Olympic medal in the Laser Radial class.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2008)