Athens-bound British sailors Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley finished fifth in the Tornado catamaran world championship in Palma, Spain. The pair won the final race as Argentines Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola came ninth to seal gold.
"For us it was a case of too much gear failure," said McMillan.
"A broken mainsheet shackle caused our 24th place. But there are a lot of positives and it was certainly nice to finish with a bullet."
McMillan and Bulkeley, who will compete at this summer's Olympics, were two points behind Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz of Spain.
Americans John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree took silver with Australia's defending champions Darren Bundock and John Forbes winning the bronze.
The British duo added: "It has been a hard week and the Argentines have sailed a very consistent series.
"It is the first time in four years that Bundock has not won and the championship was much closer than in previous years."
MMIX
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