British Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison, 32, is the new Laser World Champion. Paul hung on in the final day of competition to take first place at the 2009 Nautel Laser World Championships on St. Margaret’s Bay in Nova Scotia.

Coming into the competition, Paul’s chief rival was 21-year-old Australian Tom Slingsby, who won the Laser Worlds in both 2007 and 2008. Slingsby came in 17th.

Michael Bullot of New Zealand took second, with Goodison’s fellow countryman Nick Thompson taking third. “The final race was classic with Goodison and Bullot hunting each other at the start,” said event manager Duncan Enman. “It was a mesmerizing dance along the start line as each athlete tried to outplay the other. Amazing sailing, amazing sport, as one would expect at a World championship.”

Final top ten:

1. Paul Goodison, GBR, 24.5 points
2. Michael Bullot, NZL, 31
3. Nick Thompson, GBR, 35
4. Julio Also garay, ARG, 38
5. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO, 52
6. David Wright, CAN, 59
7. Milan Vujasinovic, CRO, 74
8. Javier Hernandez, ESP, 82
9. Andreas Geritzer, AUT, 92
10. Michael Leigh, CAN, 932

For more information, visit www.laserinternational.org .