FORMER Lomond School pupil Lorenzo Chiavarini sealed gold for Great Britain at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Qingdao, China at the weekend.

The rising Laser star’s sixth-placed finish in Sunday’s final race was enough for the 21-year-old to finish 19 points clear ahead of word number three Tonci Stipanovic, with Olympic silver medallist Pavlos Kontides third.

Chiavarini mastered the tidal conditions at the 2008 sailing city over the four opening days of the series to head into the Laser medal race with an impressive 17 point lead.

The sailor confessed to some final day butterflies, but held his nerve to close out the victory.

Chiavarini impressed at the Laser World Championships in July where he finished 10th. His win in China has earned him an invitation to next month’s ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi.

He told yachtsandyachting.com after his final race on Sunday: “My thoughts on how I did this week? Really quite fantastic.

“I wasn’t expecting such speed and my decision making was really quite good. My starting, which has been my fall back, has now become one of my strengths within this event, so I’m really happy.

“The race track was a bit shorter compared to other days, so the gains were less as well. Tide was another big point of the day.

“For me it was important to keep Tonci around me and not let him get too far away. I was a bit nervous coming into the day, but once I got on the water I started calming down and chatting to the guys they were quite supportive.

“I’d never been to Qingdao before, this was my first time. The sailing area is really quite impressive, the event’s been really well organised and the race committee’s done a fantastic job.”