A PHONE call of support from Hollywood star Nicole Kidman was one of the inspirations behind Australia's golden day of sailing.
In the space of an hour, 470-class duo Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson joined 470 men's winners Malcolm Page and Nathan Wilmot in setting alight scenes of green and gold jubilation on the Qingdao foreshore.
It was unbridled emotion for the two crews who have trained together for the past two years.
With the words of Kidman ringing in his head before he hit the water yesterday, Page told how he first rejected "the unknown number" on his mobile phone before returning the Aussie actor's call ahead of the important preliminary rounds.
Kidman felt compelled to contact both Page and Wilmot.
They had named their gold medal-winning boat Australia - a salute to Kidman's soon-to-be released film.
The two name all their boats after her films, with previous skiffs named Bangkok Hilton, Dead Calm and Days of Thunder.
Page had earlier joked about getting the call.
"I was getting breakfast and thought, 'Ah, I just don't want to talk to her today', so I bumped it, then two seconds later there was a message from Nicole wishing us good luck."
Yesterday he confirmed he did finally talk to the star.
"Yes, I ended up returning her call. She was very happy," an embarrassed Page said.
Asked if Kidman's show of support had played a role in their victory, he replied: "It does go a long way, don't worry about that.
"She was very surprised that we do have a tradition of naming our boats after her movies and she's just really stoked to be part of a team."
Page and Wilmot were never going to surrender their gold.
The three-time world champions and now Olympic gold medallists only had to start in the medal race to confirm their victory after they had built an unassailable lead 48 hours earlier.
But instead of taking a safety-first approach, Wilmot and Page cemented their overall win with another commanding race victory.
"We didn't have to do what we did today but we were nice and relaxed, and it ended up all right," Page said.
"I think I got about nine hours' sleep, my best sleep of the week."
The result also provides redemption for the pair after they finished 12th as medal favourites in Athens in 2004.
"That was a driving force behind us," Page said.
Rechichi and Parkinson entered yesterday's medal race in a similar position to the men.
Only a last place would have cost them glory.
They finished sixth to cement the gold.
"We're still shell-shocked, actually," Parkinson said.
"When the first boat went through the line and the gun went off, we just looked at each other and thought we've just got to get through that line.
"We knew we had it but to actually come through the line with gold made the past four years worth it."
Rechichi may be small, but she has a big heart.
She lost 10kg from a serious illness picked up from the water at Qingdao during an international regatta in 2006, and was told she would never make it back.
"There's certainly been some challenges over the past few years," she said. "I was really sick, and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
"I had some special bug that they couldn't find what it was but once I knew I was getting better.
"I hadn't put in the last four years to give up on the last 18 months."
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