HEARTBROKEN Star sailors Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson achieved silver for Great Britain but were ‘gutted’ to so narrowly miss out on gold.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic champions put on a dominant performance this week to defend their title but were pipped to the finish line by the Swedes Fredrik Loof and crew Max Salminen.

The Swedish team won the medal race and scooped gold, when Percy, 36, and Simpson, 35, finished seventh - one place away from gaining overall victory.

Sherborne’s gold Olympic medallist Simpson, known as Bart, and double Olympic champion helm Percy, went into the final double-points race with an eight point lead over the rest of the fleet.

They managed to beat their Brazilian rivals Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, who were their biggest threat to gold – but Loof and Salminen’s winning medal showdown performance snatched gold from both their grasp.

Team GB’s Star helm Percy said he realised they had lost the gold ‘20 seconds before the finish’.

He said: “You need to be 18 points ahead going into the medal race, there's a big luck element and it wasn’t with us today.

“We sailed 10 good races, there was a bit of a dice thrower at the end, we can’t blame anyone but ourselves.

“But at the same time Bart and I are really proud of the performance we put in this week, we were the top three boat in a lot of races.”

Percy criticised the sailing location of the Nothe course, located close to land to boost spectator appeal, and said: “All I can say is it’s not the way I would run an Olympic Games.

“I’ve always been anti this formation.

“But at the same time it provided a great viewing experience.”

He added: “We’re proud of the silver medal – it doesn’t feel good yet but I’m sure it will in a week’s time.”

Sherborne's Simpson, whose wife Leah is expecting their second child in September, praised the Nothe spectators.

He said: “It was fantastic having all the supporters there watching – great to see so many people enjoying sailing.

“Having the racing so close to the shore makes for tricky conditions but I hope GB had a great time watching.

“It was frustrating today but we sailed a great regatta.”