The favoured British sailing duo has been denied a second gold medal by Swedes Fredrik Loof and Max Salminen.
Reports said that Salminen and Loof crossed the finish line in first place, not knowing that they had beaten their top rivals after taking an early lead in the men’s Star class race on Sunday. Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson of Great Britain still managed to snag the silver after surpassing Brazilians Bruno Prada and Robert Scheidt in the final moments.
Talking about the defeat, Andrew Simpson told BBC Sport, “You are never 100 percent confident. We didn’t get it right and can’t blame anyone but ourselves. We had a great regatta overall. We are really frustrated. We tried our hardest, but it wasn’t to be.”
Meanwhile, Swedish sailor Rasmus Myrgren managed to walk away with a bronze medal in the men’s laser boat race. The award came despite officials filing a complaint regarding equipment on Myrgren’s boat. This had threatened to push his standing to fourth place or lower due to penalties, although after review only one point was taken from the Swede, allowing him to retain his medal.
Stefan Rahm of the Swedish Sailing Federation (Svenska Seglarförbundet) described the issued to TT news reporters: “The mast on a laser is divided into two parts. This means that the mast almost always bends a bit after a while. The sailors bend it back with their hands, and despite the rules saying that the mast must stand straight, it’s still forbidden.”