British sailors maintained their leading advantage on the opening day at the Olympic sailing regatta on Saturday.

The British team of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson came on top after two races. They finished second in their first race and placed third in the second race.

"It was really hard work. We are looking forward to more races," said Sarah Webb.

Ben Ainslie finished third after two races of the Finn competition. He lagged behind in the first race to end up in 10th, but he raced all the way back to win the second race.

"I was really disappointed (at the result of the first race), but felt happy that I could come back to win the second race," said Ainslie, adding that the heat was quite tough for him during the competition.

A total of 15 boats from Yngling class and 26 boats from Finn class joined the competitions with a wind speed of 6 knots and 6.5 knots respectively.

The Olympic sailing regatta will run from Aug. 9 to 23, with two reserved days.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)