Aldridge flies to kitesurfing gold to save sailors' Games

Ellie Aldridge rolled the dice yesterday and came out with Olympic gold. It has been a deeply frustrating regatta for Team GB's sailors, who have been twiddling their thumbs for the most part due to a lack of wind.

- TOM HARLE

When they have been able to race, results have been mixed with Emma Wilson’s bronze in the windsurfing their only medal heading into the final day.

“It has been a tricky week,” said Aldridge, “As soon as we knew we were competing at Marseille, we knew it was going to be tough, we knew the wind was going to be light, we knew it would be one of the worst places we’ve ever kited.” This meant that only those who could adapt would survive and Aldridge did exactly that to be crowned Olympic champion in the inaugural women’s kite event.

Kitesurfing is the fastest sport on the Olympic programme and sees riders “fly” above the water on hydrofoils attached to boards, powered by huge kites.

A chaotic finals format sees the scores from the opening series wiped and the last four riders standing battle it out for medals.