Aussies Get Gold; Isler Takes Silver

Sydney Harbor’s winds finally opened up today, and so did a haul of medals for the Australian and United States’ boats, finishing one-two in both the women’s and men’s 470.

The golds for the Australian crews were their country’s first in sailing since 1972. Jenny Armstrong and Belinda Stowell took the women’s event while J.J. Isler of San Diego made a dramatic comeback on the final leg to take silver.

In the men’s 470, defending world champions Tom King and Mark Turnbull gained gold while the United States’ Paul Foerster of Rockwall, Texas, and Bob Merrick of Portsmouth, R.I., second.

In 10th place and out of the medals at the top mark, Isler sailed close to Bradley’s Head and passed four boats on the spinnaker run to the finish. She finished sixth, enough to beat Ukraine by one point for the silver.

It was the second Olympic medal for Isler, 36, who took the 470 bronze in 1992. Her crewmember, Pease Glaser, 38, of Long Beach, Calif., was in her first Olympics and matched the silver medal won by her husband, Jay, in the Tornado Class in 1984. Glaser had tried and failed to make the Olympic team three previous times.

Isler and Glaser were unsure of their chances coming into the games, because they lost training time after Isler became pregnant with her second daughter. But they also figured that their experience would be a factor.