Salon.com > Bernie Wilson

Onya, mates: Aussies golden on the Olympic waves

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:48:51 +0000

WEYMOUTH, England (AP) — "God Save the Queen" wasn't as big a hit down by the seashore as a lot of people thought it would be.

Chants of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi, oi!" were all the rage.

While host Britain topped the sailing medals table for the fourth straight Olympics with five, only one was gold.

The Aussies were ecstatic to finish with more gold medals than the rival British. The Australians had their most successful games regatta ever with three golds and a silver.

It might have been four golds if not for women's match racing skipper Olivia Price getting washed overboard during the third race of the gold medal match against Spain on Saturday.

No worries, though. The 20-year-old Price and her crew came ashore with smiles on their faces, not having been projected to get that far.

It was "good on ya" every night at the Cove House Inn, the old stone pub with a stunning view of the English Channel that the Aussies took over to celebrate their accomplishments. The Aussies imported touches of home, including VB beer, Bundaberg rum and kangaroo for the barbie.

Tom Slingsby won gold in the Laser, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen dominated in the Aussie-designed 49er skiff and Malcolm Page won his second straight gold in the 470, with skipper Mathew Belcher winning his first gold.

Spain wins dramatic Olympic sailing gold

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:50:47 +0000

WEYMOUTH, England (AP) — Tamara Echegoyen, Angela Pumariega and Sofia Toro of Spain won the Olympic gold medal in women's match racing Saturday, thanks in part to a boat-handling error by Australia that swept its skipper into the water.

With the best-of-5 match tied at 1, the boats were sailing nearly side-by-side downwind in the third race in big waves on Weymouth Bay when the Australian crew lost control and its boat rolled on its side. Skipper Olivia Price was out of the back of the boat and her crew had to pick her up before continuing.

Spain won that race by 1 minute, 1 second, but the 20-year-old Price and her crew won the fourth race to force a deciding match.

In another mistake, Price was assessed a penalty in Race 5 for a right-of-way violation and Spain sailed ahead to win the gold, leaving the Aussies with the silver.

The heartbreaking loss denied Australia a fourth sailing gold medal of the London Games.

Aussies, Kiwis beat British for sailing golds

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:46:59 +0000

WEYMOUTH, England (AP) — Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! And don't forget the Kiwis.

A gold medal went to each side of the Tasman Sea on Friday in a dominating showing from Down Under in sailing's 470 class.

Australia's Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, and New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie won the gold medals Friday by overwhelming their British rivals.

The victory by Belcher and Page guaranteed that Australia will win more sailing gold medals than the strong, well-funded British team.

The Aussies lead the British three to one in golds, with only the women's match racing to be decided. The Australian crew is still alive in women's match racing while Britain's was sent home in the quarterfinals.

Belcher and Page backflipped off their dinghy after the finish, causing it to capsize. When Aleh and Powrie came ashore, their teammates and coaches lifted them up, boat and all, and carried them into the boat park.

Kiwis get Olympic sailing gold in women’s 470

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:00:01 +0000

WEYMOUTH, England (AP) — New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie won the Olympic gold medal in the women's 470 on Friday, the Kiwis' second sailing medal of the London Games.

Aleh and Powrie came into the medals race tied on points with the British crew of Hannah Mills and Saski Clark. The Kiwis won the race while the British finished ninth and took the silver.

It's the first gold medal for the Kiwis in a boat with a rudder since 1984, when Russell Coutts topped the Finn fleet and Rex Sellers and Christopher Timms won the Tornado class. Coutts went on to become the most dominant skipper in America's Cup history.

The Kiwis have been strong in windsurfing in recent Olympics, but until these games, they hadn't won any medals in boats with rudders since 1992.

On Wednesday, the Kiwi 49er skiff crew of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke took silver.

Padres sale agreement in place, needs MLB approval

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:31:16 +0000

A group headed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and including pro golfer Phil Mickelson reached agreement Monday to buy the San Diego Padres from John Moores.

The purchase price is believed to be around $800 million.

O'Malley is the son of Walter O'Malley, who bought the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and moved them to Los Angeles before the 1958 season.

"An agreement has been confirmed but is not yet finalized. It has to be voted on," Padres senior vice president, public affairs Sarah Farnsworth said after San Diego beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 Monday night.

Major League Baseball owners must approve the agreement. They are scheduled to meet later this month.

U-T San Diego first reported Monday night that a purchase agreement had been signed.

The purchase price apparently includes the $200 million in upfront money the Padres received from Fox Sports San Diego in a $1.2 billion, 30-year TV deal.

The agreement came months after Jeff Moorad's attempt to buy the team on a layaway plan fell apart. Moores' deal with Moorad, who began his attempted purchase of the club in 2009, was valued at about $500 million.

The price for this sale was inflated thanks to the deal with Fox and the recent sale of the Dodgers for $2 billion.