Ben wins third Olympic gold

Mild-mannered and quietly spoken Ben Ainslie, 31, (from Lymington) confirmed his status as one of the all-time greats of dinghy sailing, winning in the Finn class for his third Olympic gold. Ben dominated the competition remorselessly from the start of this race, as he has done from the start of the Olympic series.

Zach Railey of the United States, who won the silver medal in the Finn class behind Ainslie here on a stormy day of torrential rain and squally winds: "Ben is the best dinghy sailor the world has ever seen." There were no ifs, no buts.

The Princess Royal, a member of the IOC and president of the Royal Yachting Association, was impressed enough to have the schedule of medal presentations changed so that she could be the one that presented Ben with the medal bringing his tally to three golds and a silver.

Ben Ainslie's career in sailing began at the age of 8 with his family in Restronguet, Cornwall. Bens father Roddy was a proficient sailor who had skippered Second Life in the first Whitbread Round the World Race of 1973-74.

What started as a hobby quickly turned into a way of life, and by the age of 16 Ben was already Laser Radial World Champion. With the help and continuous support of both his parents, at just 19 years old Ben won his first Olympic medal - silver in the Laser class at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Four years later, again sailing the Laser, he achieved every athlete's dream of Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympics. www.benainslie.com

Ben's club is the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, Bath Road.