Intro:

Pawel Tarnowski and Bryony Shaw took gold as windsurfing's RS:X European Championships reached their conclusion off Sicily on Saturday (27th June).

Script:

Saturday saw the medals decided in the RS:X European Championships at Sicily's Mondello Beach.

In the men's senior fleet the points were close with Poland's Pawel Tarnowski leading after a redress - a protest hearing that allowed him to claim valuable points.

In the Men's Senior Gold fleet it was Byron Kokkalanis who won the medal race but finished sixth overall.

The fight for the title was between Tarnowski and Dorian Van Rijsselberge.

The Dutchman was unable to escape his rival's clutches so it was gold for Tarnowski.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Dorian van Rijsselberge, RS:X European silver medallist:

"It was whoever beat who in the medal race, so me and Pawel were trying to go head-to-head and I just came up short a little bit in the first lap. And after that, he was just following me around so it was hard to pass. That was it."

SOUNDBITE: (Dutch) Dorian van Rijsselberge, RS:X European silver medallist:

In the women's senior fleet, only seven points separated the top five at the start of Saturday.

The key was good tactics and it was Britain's Bryony Shaw who came up with the goods and secured first place in the medal race and with it the European title.

It was a frustrating story for Poland's Malgorzata Bialecka who had the lead all week but lost out at the very last moment. 

SOUNDBITE: (English) Bryony Shaw, RS:X gold medallist:

"You had to be precise where you tacked and make a good lane, and I was really happy. My first tack made the race for me because I had a really nice lane across to the right side and from there I rounded first at the top and I was happy to stay in front of the other Polish girls."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Bryony Shaw, RS:X gold medallist:

"I'm so happy to be European champion. It's been a long week, a lot of waiting for the wind and I think I dealt with the pressure well and I was always consistent so I'm really happy that today I won the medal race and so I take the title."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Malgorzata Bialecka, RS:X silver medallist:

"To tell you the truth, I am so happy. I know I was leading for all this week but conditions today were so so difficult and it was so shifty and gusty. This is actually my first medal in seniors' championships so, whatever the colour is, I'm the happiest person in the world right now so it's great."