medallist in two decades By Adrian Robson in Mar del Plata, Argentina Paula Lewin, knocking on the door of international success for so long, finally broke through on Saturday to snatch a bronze medal and lift the spirits of a Bermuda sailing team who had had precious little to cheer about all week at these Pan-Am Games.

Lewin's third place finish in the Europe Dinghy class earned her a medal at a major Games for the first time, represented Bermuda's first Pan-Am sailing medal in more than 20 years -- Snipe sailor Penny Simmons was Bermuda's last winner -- and will likely prove the Island's only tangible reward here in Argentina.

Beaming from ear to ear as she was hugged by team-mates and sprayed with champagne by boatswain Nick Jones after stepping ashore at the end of the tenth and final race, Lewin later admitted her feelings were as much of relief as they were of elation.

"I'm just so happy,'' she smiled. "I can't tell you how happy I am.

"I don't know how many times I've finished fourth. The last Pan-Am Games I lost the bronze by a quarter of a point, and the Goodwill Games, same thing, I lost by just two points. So, it's just an unbelievable feeling to have won the bronze this time.'' While the Europe Dinghy fleet only contained six boats, Lewin faced some tough competition from a group of sailors considered the best on this side of the Atlantic, all of whom will likely represent their countries in next year's Olympics.

Her scalps included Canada's Susan Emerson who posed the biggest threat in her battle for bronze and the host country's Serena Amato.

As it turned out, entering the final two races in third place and with a 6.25 point lead over Emerson, Lewin clinched the bronze by finishing third in the first of those two runs. And for good measure she threw in another third in the last.

Ahead of her a surprise turn of events saw Brazil's Marcia Pellicano grab the gold by just quarter of a point by winning the final two races and leapfrogging over USA's Kimberly Logan who had led all week.

"There's no doubt there were some good girls here,'' added Lewin. "So even though the fleet was small, I had to sail well. I'll probably meet them all again at the Olympics.'' Lewin apart, the last day of the week-long regatta offered little respite to the rest of Bermuda's storm-battered team.

Snipe sailor Stevie Dickinson with crew Heath Foggo, as decided the night before, didn't even sail his final two races and thus ended up eighth and last in his class.

Elizabeth Walker in the Laser Radials similarly propped up the seven-boat fleet after a seventh and fifth in the final two races.

And Malcolm Smith, for whom there had been high hopes following his victory in the World Sunfish Championships last year, again couldn't find a way through the high waves and 20 knot winds as he dropped from 11th to 14th on the last day of the Laser class with a 12th and a DNF.

Sailing manager Chuck Millican conceded that despite Lewin's bronze, it had been a frustrating week at the start of which Bermuda had expected more.

"I think coming down here we had hoped for a gold and a silver,'' said Millican. "But Peter (Bromby) and his crew didn't sail particularly well and didn't make the semis, which we expected.

"Paula took a little while to get used to the weather conditions. But she solved those problems and had a good strong series in the end. We're very happy with a bronze medal, it's the best we've had in a long time.'' Millican admitted had Bermuda known more about the conditions off Mar del Plata prior to arriving they might have prepared differently.

"Had we been down here last year, one person just on a fact-finding trip, we would have realised the type of conditions we faced and would have been training off South Shore rather than in the Great Sound.

"It was always about 20 knots here this week and really heavy seas. For Elizabeth and Malcolm, we knew anything over 10 or 12 knots would prove their downfall.

"You've got to give Elizabeth credit. She finished the series and hung in, which was very positive.'' Saturday's J24 match-racing final saw America's Paul Foerster win the gold with a 4-0 clean sweep over Peter Holmberg of the US Virgin Islands in a best-of-seven final.

Argentina's Francisco Campero picked up the bronze by defeating Canada's Ross MacDonald 4-1.

FINAL RESULTS Europe Dinghy -- 1 M.Pellicano (Brazil) 12.75 points; 2 K.Logan (USA) 13.00; 3 Paula Lewin (Bermuda) 27.75.

Snipe -- 1 M.Lopez (Cuba) 12.5; 2 Belhot Fabini (Uruguay) 21.5; 3 G.Parada (Argentina) 21. 5 Stevie Dickinson (Bermuda) 66.

Laser Radial -- M.Marcone (Argentina) 14.5; J.Coolidge (USA) 20.25; 3 M.Krahe (Brazil) 27 Elizabeth Walker (Bermuda) 56.

Laser -- 1 R.Scheidt (Brazil) 8; 2 S.Lange (Argentina) 21.75; 3 J.Rhodes (Canada) 30 Malcolm Smith (Bermuda) 107.