Spain took the final sailing gold of the London Olympics with a win over Australia in a tight final in the women’s Elliott match racing category Saturday.
The gold is the first and last to be awarded in the Elliott, which was introduced for women only in London but dropped for the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The Spanish crew of Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez, Sofia Toro Prieto Puga and Angela Pumariega Menendez won 3-2 in the final of the match race event, a head-to-head competition between two boats that prizes tactical sailing above outright speed.
The final went to a deciding fifth race as Australia’s Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty matched the Spaniards all the way.
Earlier, the Finnish crew of Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva and Mikaela Wulff beat Russia 3-1 to win bronze.
