Van Rijsselberghe dominated the competition completely by finishing first among the 38 competitors in 7 out of 10 races, second twice and third once. After the ninth race, he had accumulated a sufficient lead over the second placed
Nick Dempsey to be certain to win the gold medal – as long as he competed in the remaining races – irrespective of his results in the 10th race and in the medal race. ==Further reading==