TWO blondes in a boat strike silver – but it could so easily have been gold.
Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills have only been competing together for 18 months but in the early rounds at Weymouth they sail like they have been partners for years.
On the day of the final race Hannah and Saskia are level on points with Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie of New Zealand.
As women’s 470 class world champs, the Brit girls are favourites to take the lead. But they misread the wind at the start and before long the Kiwi boat has built up a 200-metre lead, which is just impossible to overhaul.
Sobbing Saskia, 33, reveals that when a shift in the wind came over the fleet, it was game over.
Hannah, 24, said: “We made a small mistake and got punished hard for it.”
There is a silver lining for sailors Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, who whoop and holler as their 470 class dinghy rides the waves to second place.
The pair are convinced their silver at London 2012 is the launch pad for a gold in four years’ time.
Helmsman Luke said: “It’s been a blast, just good fun. This is just a warm-up for Rio.”
Elsewhere, middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo manages to win bronze – even though he is desperately worried about his mum Teresa, who suffered a brain haemorrhage and is in hospital.
Anthony, 23, from Lowestoft, is knocked down twice by the Brazilian Esquiva Falcao and loses 16-9. Lutalo Muhammad completes British taekwondo finest 24 hours, winning bronze by beating Arman Yeremyan of Armenia 9-3.
Team GB power their way to bronze, beating New Zealand 3-1 in the women’s hockey tournament at the Riverbank Arena.
Avid supporter the Duchess of Cambridge cheers the team as Team GB score all three goals from penalties.
Captain Kate Walsh bursts into tears as the team do a victory lap.
A BUNGLED baton change costs Britain’s men a place in the 4 x 100m final.
Teenage sprint sensation Adam Gemili is too quick off the mark and receives the baton late from Danny Talbot.
It’s the fourth time the relay team have botched a major championship.
Team GB narrowly miss out on a medal in the men’s 4 x 400m race at the Olympic stadium.
Conrad Williams, Jack Green, Dai Greene and Martyn Rooney are pipped to bronze by Trinidad and Tobago.
Steve Lewis finishes fifth in the pole vault final after failing to clear 5.58 metres.
Diver Tom Daley makes hard work of reaching the 10m platform diving final, scraping through in 15th place out of 18 to make the cut. But he raises his game and claims a bronze medal.
Welsh welterweight boxer Fred Evans is assured of at least a silver after his shock defeat of Ukraine’s world No1, Taras Shelestyuk, by 11 to 10. Evans now faces Kazakstan’s Serik Sapiyev.
