GBR ranked second

ISAF have released their first Olympic class ranking since the Games last month

ISAF have released their first International Rankings for Olympic classes since the end of the Olympic Games last month in China.

In Brief:

-Of the 11 gold medal winners, six held a world ranking in the top three going into the Games
-Australia remain the top team despite Britains outstanding performance at the Games
-Poland drop from second nation to fourth after failing to get any medals in China despite high hopes before the event
-Goodison (GBR) is the new leader in the Laser following Slingsby's (AUS) major failiing on the Olympic stage.
-Conti and Micol (ITA) move to the top of the rankings in the Women's 470
-These two are the only changes at the top of any class
-Despite winning Gold Medal for the third consecutive games, Ben Ainslie is still only ranked 13th.
-Ainlsie's team-mates, Percy and Simpson are also outside the top ten despite winning gold.

There are two new leaders in the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and some major changes elsewhere with the inclusion of results from the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition.

Following on from the sailing events at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games there are some major changes amongst the leaders in this release of the World Rankings. Australia holds on to their top nation standing in this Ranking release after winning two gold and one silver medal at the Games. The Aussies lost one of their three world number one spots after their Laser star Tom Slingsby endured a very difficult Olympic debut, but they still hold two number one, two number two and one number three position on the World Rankings.

Just behind Australia, Great Britain climbs up from fourth to second in the national standings after topping the medal tally with one of the best-ever national performances at the Olympic Sailing Competition, winning four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. The only thing holding the British team back in the Rankings is the limited number of appearances made by some of their star names - such as Ben Ainslie - which has cost them Ranking points but did nothing to halt their success in Qingdao.

Spain, which won one gold and one silver medal in Qingdao, is tied with Great Britain as the second-best nation with two number one and two number two ranked crews. Poland drop back from second to fourth in the national standings after failing to deliver any medals in China despite having what was probably their strongest-ever Olympic sailing team. Italy, winners of one silver and one bronze medal at the Games, complete the top five in the national standings.

New Leaders

Following on from the Games there are two new leaders at the top of the 11 ISAF World Ranking lists. Paul Goodison of Great Britain reclaims the top spot in the Laser, after winning Olympic gold in Qingdao. In the Women's 470 Ranknigs former leaders also return to the top spot with Italians Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol are back in the world number one spot. Conti and Micol missed out on the medals with a fifth place finish in Qingdao, but still overtake former leaders Ai Kondo and Naoko Kamata, who struggled to a 14th place.

Of the 11 crews who held world number one rankings going into the Games, five won medals, including gold medals for Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) in the Laser Radial, Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS) in the Men's 470 and Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (GBR) in the Yngling. Of the 11 gold medal winners, six held a world ranking in the top three going into the Games.

Movers

It's no surprise the biggest move at the top of the Rankings this month comes from British Finn sailor Ben Ainslie. After winning his third consecutive Olympic gold medal. Ainslie jumps 15 places up the Rankings to number 13, although his Ranking position is still being held back by his reduced appearances over the past couple of years. Finn silver medallist Zach Railey (USA) hits his best-ever Ranking at numebr nine, with bronze medallist Guillaume Florent (FRA) also making big gains up from 23rd to 14th.

Olympic gold medallists Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS) are unsurprisingly unmoved at the top of the Men's 470 Rankings. Silver medallists Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield (GBR) are up to second, with bronze medal winners Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset gaining three places to number four.

Women's 470 gold medallists Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson (AUS) climb two places to sixth. Silver medallists Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout also gain two places to fourth, whilst bronze medallists Fernanda Oliveira and Isabel Swan (BRA) make a three place gain to number 17. The big climbers, though, are the Spanish duo Natalia Via-Dufresne and Laia Tutzo, who make up 14 places to 14th, and the Slovenians Vesna Dekleva and Klara Maucec who jump from 37th to 22nd.

Amongst the windsurfers, Men's RS:X gold medallist Tom Ashley (NZL) climbs five places to number four, with silver medallist Julien Bontemps (FRA) just ahead of him after gaining two places up to second. China's first-ever Olympic gold medallist in sailing Jian Yin is the big mover in the Women's RS:X Rankings, climbing up from number 25 to 16th. Silver medallist Alessandra Sensini (ITA) moves up five places to number six.

In the Laser fleet, Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) moves up from 13th to sixth after adding an Olympic silver medal to the bronze he won in Athens four years ago. Beijing bronze medallist Diego Romero (ITA) climbs ten places to ninth. The Olympic silver medallist, Gintare Volungeviciute (LTU), is also the big mover in the Laser Radial Rankings. Volungeviciute gains five places up to her best-ever Ranking of fourth. Swiss star Nathalie Brugger also earns a career-best ranking as she climbs eight places up to tenth.

In the Star Rankings, Olympic Champions Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) only gain one place up to 11th, with their World Ranking still hampered by their 52nd place finish at this year's Star Worlds. Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) move up four places to second after winning Olympic silver. In the Yngling Rankings, Olympic bronze medallists Sofia Bekatorou, Sofia Papadopoulou and Virginia Kravarioti (GRE) are the highest of two new entries into the top ten at seventh.

The world top three are unchanged in the 49er and Tornado Rankings, although the Olympic bronze medallists in both events make significant gains. German 49er crew Jan-Peter Peckolt and Hannes Peckolt gain three places up to fourth, whilst Argentina's Tornado team of Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola climb up from 18th to 11th.

World Ranking Leaders - 3 September 2008

Heavyweight Dinghy - Finn
Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN (DEN)

Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA)

Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Paul GOODISON (GBR)

Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS)

Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Giulia CONTI and Giovanna MICOL (ITA)

Skiff - 49er
Iker MARTINEZ and Xabier FERNANDEZ (ESP)

Men's Keelboat - Star
Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ and Dominik ZYCKI (POL)

Women's Keelboat - Yngling
Sarah AYTON, Sarah WEBB and Pippa WILSON (GBR)

Multihull - Tornado
Darren BUNDOCK and Glenn ASHBY (AUS)

Men's Windsurfer - RS:X
Przemyslaw MIARCZYNSKI (POL)

Women's Windsurfer - RS:X
Marina ALABAU (ESP)

The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will next be on 15 October 2008.