London, England – Spain defeated Australia to win gold in the women's Elliott 6m match racing competition, the final sailing event to conclude at the London Olympics.
The Spanish boat, skippered by Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez with a crew of Sofia Toro Prieto Puga and Angela Pumariega Menendez, won by a 3-2 margin. They earned a point in three of the five races.
Australia had gone 11-0 during the round robin stage, but couldn't rally for the victory. Its skipper, Olivia Price, was actually thrown out of the boat during race No. 3 after the boat lost control and crossed into a strong wind. Light winds cut short competition on Thursday and Friday, but Saturday there were no problems.
Price got back into the boat, but Spain was already on its way to winning the race. Australia took race No. 4, but was penalized for obstructing Spain and needed to take a penalty and never caught back up.
Prior to the gold medal match, Finland defeated Russia 3-1 for bronze.
Russia protested the result, saying both boats crossed the start line too soon in race No. 4. But that appeal was rejected, the second time that happened to Russia on Saturday.
The country's Olympic Committee filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport early Saturday morning, requesting that the International Sailing Federation's decision to cut short the semifinals Friday be overturned. However, the CAS rejected that appeal.
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