Australia's Tom Burton wins gold in men's laser at Rio 2016 sailing test event

Tom Burton

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10 (IANS): Australia's Tom Burton has won gold in the men's laser at the Olympic sailing test event in Rio's Guanabara bay.

Rutger van Schaardenburg of the Netherlands took the silver medal while Britain's Nick Thompson took bronze, reported Xinhua.

Brazil's dual Olympic gold medallist Robert Scheidt stood fourth.

Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan completed an impressive performance from the Australian team by also securing gold in the 470 class. Australia ended the regatta with five medals.

New Zealand clinched their second gold medal Saturday when Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie won the 470 women's race.

Anne Marie Rindom of Denmark claimed gold in the women's laser radial class.

The regatta was the first of 45 test events planned ahead of the Rio Games to be held from August 5-21, 2016.