British sailors denied bronze

Joe Glanfield and Nick Rogers just missed out on bronze

Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield of Britain just missed out on bronze in the 470 class in their final fleet race after they were squeezed into fourth placed by plucky Argentina.

The British crew, who finished seventh in the final race, needed the South Americans to finish in eleventh place on the final day but suffered desperate disappointment after a late rally moved Argentina up to tenth.

Australia clinched gold on their home patch after finishing second on Thursday and the USA crew secured the silver.

If Rogers and Glanfield had held on for the bronze, it would have been Britain's second sailing medal of the Games.

No racing was possible on Wednesday due to unstable winds and more unwelcome weather meant the 470 men, 470 women, Star, Finn, Laser, Europe and Soling class boats were all kept ashore early on.

But once the clouds cleared, Rogers and Glanfield were able to return to the water.

Lead

Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie currently lead the rest in their respective Finn and Laser classes, and Shirley Robertson lies second in the Europe event.

The British sailing team have already shown their disapproval after hearing of the decision to extend the Olympic regatta.

It will be extended in the Europe and Laser dinghy classes to Saturday to make up for time lost to poor wind but the British team believe it could well affect their medal chances.

Britain are well-placed to win medals in both classes.

If a full series of racing is not possible, the race rules originally said medals would be awarded according to places held at the conclusion of the last possible race. Race rules are set by the International Sailing Federation.

British team manager John Derbyshire said: "It would be Team Great Britain's intention to put in a redress claim if racing in a class occurred on a non-scheduled day and our position in that class on their last day of scheduled racing was affected adversely."