Sailing: Bowes-Cole is blown away

What should have been a three-race finale turned into a sudden- death knockout for Britain's Simon Bowes-Cole in the Laser European Championships at Hayling Island yesterday, writes Stuart Alexander. The Christchurch man was lying second to the eventual gold medal winner, Italy's Francesco Bruni, and leading the delayed first race of the day when a big wind-shift left him halfway down the fleet of 40 qualifiers of 118 from 24 countries. With the wind uncertain, the event then ran out of time and Bowes-Cole had to swallow being fifth overall as Norway's Elvind Melleby and Terje-Andre Kjer, and Holland's Serge Kats, all overhauled him. In Greece Britain's girls Storm Nuttal and Sally Cuthbert took gold in the Laser II at the IYRU World Youth Sailing Championships and Ben Ainslie won silver in the single-handed Laser.