Olympics: Yngling crew and Ainslie overcome stormy conditions for gold

· Yngling girls grab Team GB's first sailing gold
· Ainslie becomes most successful British Olympic sailor
Pippa Wilson of the British Yngling crew
Pippa Wilson of the victorious Great Britain Yngling crew in calmer waters. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Ben Ainslie opened his curtains, saw that the wind was blowing and knew, beyond any reasonable doubt, that his third Olympic gold medal was his for the taking. There was never much doubt anyway, but these were the conditions he might have wished for here everyday, and he duly went out and blew the field apart. There was no need to play cat and mouse with his nearest rival, Zach Railey of the US any more. This was Ainslie's weather, Ainslie's day, and Britain second sailing gold within three hours.

Earlier the Yngling trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson had sailed with similar poise and passion to win their gold. "I was so pleased for the girls. They were an inspiration for me," said Ainslie, who is now the most be-medalled sailor in British Olympic history, overtaking Rodney Pattison who won two golds and a silver.

Yet even having won gold at Sydney and Athens, Ainslie admitted that crossing the line had filled him with a tremendous sense of relief. For all his undoubted talent and superiority over his other Finn rivals, the great man was not above suffering from nerves, and the aborted medal race on Saturday, when there was barely a breath of wind, had left him with an uncomfortable night.

His boat had been checked an re-checked everyday to make sure nothing went wrong at the last moment, but the pressure of expectation was, he admitted, far greater than at either of the last two Olympics. "He's the best dinghy sailor the world has ever seen," said Railey, who was himself delighted to have claimed silver. "Ben sailed absolutely incredibly throughout and thoroughly deserved the gold."

There was an inevitability that Ainslie would take the lead, having sailed a brilliant third section into the wind. It was peerless, demonstrating to perfection his extraordinary talent. After that there was no need to take the slightest risk. It would be untrue to say he merely sat back and steered the boat home, but he was not about to go hell for leather with the gold signed, sealed, and all but delivered.

With the Yellow Sea a paler shade of grey, Britain's Thee Blondes, Part II won Britain's first sailing gold of these Olympics with a wonderfully assured display in the Yngling medal race that left their nearest rivals, the Dutch, powerless to make any impact whatsoever. "It was absolutely fantastic and we are so excited," beamed Sarah Webb as the trio huddled under the roof of tent on whose roof the rain drummed a victory tattoo. Outside the land was fast turning into the sea, such was the deluge. There had been a real possibility that this last race might have been called off. They just managed to get through it in time, and huge was their joy.

Both Ayton and Webb had won the gold in the class in Athens when it made its Olympic bow. For Wilson, a vet's daughter from Lymington in Hampshire, this was a completely new experience. Of the trio, she was the one who could look back and see what was going on behind as they raced away from the Dutch. But not for a second was anything ever taken for granted until they had crossed the finishing line and the medal was theirs.

It had been Shirley Robertson who had steered the boat to a gold medal in Athens, after which she started a family. It had taken Ayton and Webb a considerable time to choose with whom to sail for these Olympics. The choice of Wilson turned out to be perfection. Yet prior to the medal race they had not actually finished first in the previous eight races. That said, they had sailed with wonderful consistency, so that by the decider, and with only a one-point lead, they knew that they simply had to stay ahead of the Dutch to win the gold. Though easier said than done, with the trio from the Netherlands having struck a rich vein of form towards the end of last week.

Initially it was extremely tight but at the first mark Ayton manoeuvred superbly and they were away, the Dutch trio of Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes, and Merel Witteveen never managing to get back and eventually finishing fifth, although this was enough to keep the silver medal, with the Greeks taking the bronze.

The Dutch were understandably disappointed, though Mulder was quick to walk over to the British boat after it had reached the quayside and over her congratulations. Then the heavens opened with vengeance, with a rush for the tents. But the British girls cared little that it had rained on their parade. For them everything was suffused in a golden light. And then came Ainslie.

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