Kontides, London 2012 Olympic silver medallist, knew that victory would hand him an inaugural World Cup gold medal. His demeanour in advance of the decider was a man full of confidence and after a conservative start he managed to hit the front of the fleet and grab the lead on the second upwind.

Meanwhile, Wearn found himself mid-fleet, pushing to catch up with Kontides. Wearn was forced to do penalty turns after an infringement at the third mark rounding. That ultimately sealed his fate as Kontides streaked away to win the double points race and with it, gold.

“This is my first gold medal in the senior fleet,” said Kontides through a beaming smile immediately after racing. “I’ve come close to winning many times but I’m really glad I have finally won. It was a great week with great conditions.

“This is the start of a new cycle and it’s good to start it in this way.”