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Matt Wearn secures Olympic Laser class sailing gold

Matt Wearn wins gold after finishing first in the men's Laser class on Sunday.

Matt Wearn wins gold after finishing first in the men's Laser class on Sunday. Photo: Getty

Sailor Matt Wearn has completed his Laser medal race in style, securing a record-breaking fourth gold for Australia on the 10th day of the Tokyo Olympics.

Wearn’s dominance throughout 10 regular races meant he only needed to finish Sunday’s final race to win gold.

The West Australian finished second in Sunday’s contest, calmly completing formalities in the waters off Enoshima as Croatian Tonci Stipanovic claimed silver ahead of Norway’s bronze medallist Hermann Tomasgaard.

It is Australia’s third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the one-man class, with Wearn following in the footsteps of Tom Burton (Rio 2016) and Tom Slingsby (London 2012).

The start of the race was delayed 10 minutes by the committee boat, but the 25-year-old cut a relaxed figure as he waited to make history.

Wearn’s victory, coming after Logan Martin’s BMX freestyle win plus Emma McKeon’s triumphant end to a remarkable swimming meet, marked the first time in Olympic history that Australia have won four gold medals on the same day.

“It’s pretty phenomenal to be part of that,” Wearn told Seven Network, prior to starting the medal race.

“To be able to add to the medal tally and bring a gold home today is amazing.”

Wearn, who edged Burton to represent Australia at these Games, started the regatta in unconvincing fashion while finishing 17th then 28th.

But he quickly climbed up the standings to enjoy an unassailable 22-point overall lead on Friday, admitting that night represented “probably the worst night’s sleep I’ve had”.

Wearn’s 53 points gave him an emphatic win over Stipanovic (82) and Tomasgaard (85).

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Bernaz won Sunday’s race, but finished sixth overall.

-AAP

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