There was double joy for Team GB at Xuanwu Lake as triathletes Ben Dijkstra and Sian Rainsley claimed gold and silver respectively in the mixed relay event, with both admitting it had been a day to remember.
Dijkstra, fresh from claiming gold in Monday’s men’s race, was the final runner of a Europe One team, while Rainsley had the honour of starting for a Europe Three quartet.
Rainsley led the race out of the water and her team were in first place as final competitor Bence Lehmann of Hungary got underway.
But hot on Lehmann’s heels was Dijkstra and he managed to overtake the Hungarian for his second gold of the Games, Europe One coming home in 1:22.17 hours, 23 seconds ahead of Rainsley and co.
“After my individual gold I was just eager to get back out there, my legs were feeling quite tired and just had to recover and thankfully I did that. It was only a short race but I loved every second of it,” said Dijkstra.
“It was a great race and a fantastic result and I have two golds now which is amazing.
“I just came here for a fantastic experience and Nanjing has given me that but also to have two golds is wonderful.”
Rainsley added: “I am over the moon. We were ranked third in Europe so to come second overall is absolutely amazing and I am so over the moon.
“It is good to end on a high. This team event is good to do with all the other countries and we have got to know each other really well and it is something different and it makes it more exciting and everyone works together.
“It was always an aim to medal in Nanjing but I never knew how it would go so I am really pleased to have got one.”
At the pool Jessica Fullalove made it a hat-trick of silver medals as she finished second in the women’s 50m backstroke.
Fullalove already had 100m backstroke and 4x100m women’s mixed medley silver under her belt from Nanjing, and she finished as runner up again, touching home in 28.66 seconds.
“I can’t seem to get that gold medal no matter how hard I try, but I am happy with that,” Fullalove said.
“Three silver medals from the meet and it is the back end of a really long season so to get another silver and a personal best is really good so I am really happy with that.
“Obviously they are not the right colour but I am really happy to come away from the Youth Olympics with three silvers and end the season on a really big high.”
Meanwhile, there was joy for Charlotte Atkinson and Duncan Scott as they qualified for tomorrow’s 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle finals respectively, although Miles Munro failed to follow suit in the later while Amelia Maughan couldn’t escape her 50m freestyle heat.
Elsewhere, trampolinist Zainub Akbar finished eighth in the women’s final, despite qualifying for the showpiece in fourth.
Golfer Robert MacIntyre shot a one under par round of 71 in the third and final day of the men’s individual competition, meaning her finished joint 13th overall on that same score, ten shots behind Italian winner Renato Paratore.
However there was better luck for judoka Peter Miles as he picked up bronze in the mixed international team event at Jianliang Gymnasium.
“The team event was a great atmosphere and it was a lot of fun,” said Miles, who teamed up with judoka from around the world for the competition, beating a team including fellow Team GB judoka Lulu Piovesana in their first match.
“Cheering on your team is a lot different to the individual competition as it is not all about you it is about the team.
“And not only was it a lot of fun but it was also really nice to finish with a medal as well.
“It was a better performance than what I had in the individual competition, I was able to get more attacks in and throw better so I am pleased about that.
“This has just been an amazing experience as I have experienced what it will be like at an Olympic Games and everything that comes with it like the athlete’s village.”
© Sportsbeat 2014