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JPMorgan-sponsored sailor Ainslie wins third Olympic gold medal

Aug 18, 2008

JPMorgan Asset Management-sponsored sailor Ben Ainslie gave a superb performance on Sunday, August 17, to win the Finn Class gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, finishing first in the medal race in challenging conditions to bring home his third successive Olympic gold medal in emphatic style. The 31 year old is now Great Britain's most successful Olympic sailor ever, medalling in every Games since 1996 when he won a silver medal aged just 19.

Ainslie went into the medal race with a twelve-point advantage over the U.S.'s Zach Railey, the only other man with a chance of gold. Glory was temporarily snatched from Ainslie's grasp when the first attempt to complete the medal race on Saturday was abandoned due to poor weather conditions with the Briton on course for gold. But he made no mistake 24 hours later, taking an early lead which was never seriously threatened for the rest of the race.

Ainslie finished the competition an impressive 22 points clear of Railey, with Frenchman Guillame Florent taking the bronze.