Sailing sensation Saskia Clark gave herself the perfect birthday present by storming to silver medal success for Great Britain at the 470 World Championships.
Clark, of Mersea Island, turned 26 on the second day of competition in San Francisco, but the celebrations had to be put on hold until the final day of racing when she and helmswoman Christina Bassadone, from Chichester, secured a dramatic second-place berth.
Yet it could have been a golden moment for the duo had it not been the final race victory of Holland's Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout.
With both crews level on 32 points, the Dutch pair took the title on a tie-break having won five races overall compared to Britain's three.
But Clark was more than pleased with the colour of her medal.
"It still hasn't sunk in yet," Clark said. "We went out there thinking that a top-three placing could be possible, but it wasn't until we had three days left of competition that we would hopefully be on course for a medal."
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Thursday, September 1, 2005
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