LYMINGTON'S Pippa Wilson stayed firmly on course for an Olympic gold medal in the Yngling class after a solid display in Qingdao yesterday.

Wilson, along with team-mates Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb, extended their lead at the top of the standings ahead of today's races five and six, picking up four points in race three yesterday and seven in race four.

Wilson said: "The breeze was really up and down and in different directions. We always keep calm and try to make the best of the situations we've got.

"Sailboat racing is always pretty hard - you never know what to expect. When you wake up in the morning, it could be anything, any wind strength, any direction and that's what we love about sailing - the changes that happen.

"The conditions of the day meant you had to be quite strong with your positioning. There were a lot of changes happening on the racecourse for sure."

Meanwhile, fellow Lymington ace Ben Ainslie narrowed the gap on Finn class leader Zach Railey after yesterday's racing.

Defending champion Ainslie was in the mix of race three, but found himself on the wrong end of a right-of-way rule infringement called by American rival Railey.

"It was one of those ones where I didn't actually do anything wrong," said Ainslie, "But he had a fantastic opportunity to protest me and get me disqualified from the race, so really it meant I had to do a penalty turn which was pretty costly."

Ainslie added: "It's the Olympics, isn't it?

"You try everything you can to get an advantage on your opponent. I think most of the fleet try and give me a hard time when they can!

"It's a tough situation but I'd rather play it safe and do the turn than end up in a protest situation.

"I'm quite pleased with how things have gone so far, though. I'm happy being there in the hunt but there's still a long way to go so I've just got to keep trying hard and keep pushing."

Ainslie eventually finished fourth in race three before victory in race four kept him in touch with Railey.

The 31-year-old, who is seeking a fourth medal in China to surpass Rodney Pattison as Britain's most successful Olympic sailor, was due back out for races five and six of the Finn class today.

  • Lymington 470 star Nick Rogers takes to the Qingdao waters today alongside team-mate Joe Glanfield as the pair look to turn disappointment in Sydney and silver in Athens into gold in Beijing.