CHINESE Laser Radial Olympic champion Lijia Xu praised her Weymouth coach for making her gold medal win possible.

The 24-year-old staged a confident performance yesterday in front of the thousands of spectators on the Nothe course to win her country’s second Olympic gold medal in the sport – the first having gone to a Chinese windsurfer four years ago.

Xu, of Shanghai, said she felt proud for herself and for her nation, she praised her Weymouth coach Jon Emmett for his support behind the scenes.

She said: “Jon has given me a huge help, without him I wouldn't have those skills.

“During the whole year he taught me a lot of things I didn't know before, like weather and how to observe the cloud.

“I didn't know sea breeze before he coached me, what a shame.

“Sadly he didn't have accreditation but this week he coached me by phone and email every day.”

Xu added: “I'll definitely try for Rio, I hope so. I want to give Jon a huge, huge thank you.

“He taught me about real sailing, we don’t have this in China. I hope this will make a lot more people know about this sport and they they can feel the joy of steering the boat in the wild seas.”

A ‘very proud’ Emmett, of Holly Road, Weymouth, said he felt exhausted after ‘living every moment’ of the Olympic regatta with his protege.

The 35-year-old said: “I started working with Lily after Sail for Gold last year, she finished 15 and obviously they wanted somebody who knew Weymouth really well. The first regatta she did after working me was the Europeans in Finland and she won that.

“At the Olympic test event she finished fourth and also won the medal race.

“At that point they wanted me to get a business visa as soon as possible and go to China and as they say, the rest is history.”

He added: “I had a quick chat with her before she went to the venue. To be honest things like this are won in the head.

“Everybody is an amazing sailor, everybody is at the peak of fitness – I was trying to help her with the mental side of things.

“Lily’s got the character to rise to the occasion. She’s very, very professional which makes my life a lot easier that it could be. Words can’t describe how proud I feel.”

Pair’s Olympic glory is sealed with a kiss

LASER Radial dinghy sailor Marit Bouwmeester received a kiss from the world’s greatest Olympic sailor when she won silver at the London 2012 Games.

The Dutch sailing star, who is the girlfriend of Britain’s quadruple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie , claimed her first Olympic accolade on Weymouth and Portland waters yesterday.

The pair celebrated her success with a kiss at the London 2012 sailing venue at Osprey Quay .

Four years ago, Bouwmeester secured national selection but missed out on the international criteria needed to secure a spot at the 2008 Beijing Games.

The 24-year-old, who dominated last year’s Sail for Gold regatta and won the Olympic sailing test event 20 points clear of her nearest rival, said earlier this year: “I’m 100 per cent prepared for this one.”

In the build-up to the Games, Bouwmeester and the Dutch team rented a house in the Rodwell area of Weymouth.

Bouwmeester did early training for the big event with Team GB’s Ali Young, who she praised for having a good work ethic.

Ainslie, 35, watched the Laser Radial medal race from the Nothe.

The Lymington celebrity sat with the orange-clad supporters from the Netherlands before leaving the venue and returning to the Olympic sailing venue to greet his girlfriend ashore. He also celebrated her success at last night’s victory ceremony.