Hayling Islander Eilidh McIntyre follows in father Mike’s footsteps by winning Olympic sailing gold

Eilidh McIntyre, right, and Hannah Mills celebrate their gold medal following the Women's 470 class medal race on day 12 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Enoshima Yacht Harbour. Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images.

In winning the women’s 470 class in Tokyo this morning alongside Hannah Mills, she has emulated the gold-medal winning feat of her father Mike, who triumphed in the Star class in Seoul in 1988.

As a result, they are the first GB father and daughter pair to both win gold in Olympic history, and only the third from any nation since 1894.

Mills has also rewritten the record books, becoming the most successful female Olympic sailor in history - having won silver in London and gold in Rio with Saskia Clark in the same boat.

Mills and McIntyre - the latter making her Olympic debut - dominated the regatta at Enoshima, winning two races and only twice finishing outside the top four, and they went into this morning’s medal race with a 14-point lead.

That meant they only needed to finish in the top seven to clinch gold and they were never in any danger, crossing the line comfortably in fifth.

The victory continued a hugely successful two days for Britain’s sailors, with Mills and McIntyre making it three gold medals after success for Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell in the 49er and Giles Scott in the Finn on Tuesday.

It is the country’s second best Olympic tally after Beijing in 2008, when they won six medals, including four golds.

Mills joined forces with 27-year-old McIntyre when Clark retired following the Rio Olympics and the pair marked themselves out as the ones to beat by winning the world championships at Enoshima in 2019.