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	*NEWS*

U.S. cash in on Brazilian mistake to land gold

By Paul Tait SYDNEY,(Reuters) - The United States won their first sailing gold medal of the Sydney Games on Saturday when Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl pounced on an error by defending Olympic Star class champion Torben Grael of Brazil. The Americans had been in third place before Saturday's decisive race and crossed the finish line in second, giving them the gold medal by a single point from Ian Walker and Mark Covell of Britain. Brazil skipper Grael threw away his chance of a second successive gold medal when he was disqualified for crossing the start line early. Grael had led by five points before the race and had been among the most consistent competitors in the two-handed keelboat class before Saturday's disastrous mistake. Grael and crewman Marcelo Ferreira had to settle for the bronze medal. In a dramatic day on a sparkling Sydney Harbour, Reynolds also had his boat across the start line early but returned in time to start again. The incident appeared to make little difference as the Americans raced into second place by the first mark behind Canada's Ross MacDonald and Kai Bjorn, a position they held until the end. Walker and Covell crossed the line in third. The British pair only started the sport together late last year after their previous sailing partners were killed in separate accidents. Walker took a silver medal in Atlanta crewing with good friend John Merricks in the men's 470 dinghy class. Merricks died when a car he and Walker were passengers in overturned on a hill in Italy in 1997. Covell formerly sailed with Briton Glyn Charles, who was washed overboard during the gale-swept Sydney-Hobart race in 1998. His body was never found. Walker and Covell met at a memorial service for Charles.