Kiwi sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have won the silver medal in the 49er skiff at the Tokyo Olympics this afternoon after an agonising finish.
It came right down to the line, but Great Britain beat Germany in a thrilling finish in today's medal race to snatch the gold medal off the Kiwis.
The New Zealand pair finished the race in third, meaning they were equal on points with the Brits on the overall standings. However, they had to settle for silver due to the British finishing ahead of them in the medal race.
The Kiwis were never able to keep up with the Brits and Germans in the medal race, but for a time it looked like Germany would save their skin by winning the race, leaving the Kiwis ahead of the British on points.
In a thrilling finish, the Brits and Germans turned towards the final mark from opposite flanks, meeting in the middle bow-to-bow. But it was the British duo of Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell who were able to get a final burst of speed to pip the Germans at the line by just two seconds.
Burling and Tuke finished third, 15 seconds behind the Brits.
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had to settle for silver as Great Britain snatched the gold away in the final race.
The pair were made to rue a poor result in their final round robin race yesterday, where they finished 11th. It meant the gap between themselves and the Brits was just four points going into the medal race when a top-five finish would have likely put the gold medal beyond doubt.
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