Three Person Keelboat (Yngling), Women

From 1972-2000 the three-person keelboat had been a mixed class raced in the Soling class. It was replaced in 2004 by a women’s event raced in the Yngling class. The Yngling is a smaller version of the Soling, reflecting the Olympic trend towards smaller and faster boats, with smaller crews. The Yngling was designed in 1967 by Norwegian designer Jan Linde, who also designed the Soling. The Yngling was raced at the 2000-08 Olympics, but was replaced in 2012 by the Elliott 6 metre class for women.

The British boat skippered by Shirley Robertson won only two races but still built up such a big lead that it was able to skip the final race and win the gold medal. This was Robertson’s second Olympic gold medal, having won the 2000 Europe Class at Sydney. Runner-up helmsperson Ruslana Taran of Ukraine won her third consecutive Olympic medal, after bronzes in the 470 at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.