Two places from medals, Saunders' worlds bid ends in Ireland

A top-10 finish looked well within reach for Tom Saunders heading into the final day of the ILCA 7 World Championship in Dún Laoghaire. It slipped away in the space of two races.

Saunders sat 11th overnight and needed to crack the top 10 to book his place in the medal series. Instead he posted 17th and 20th in gold-fleet racing on the last day, dropping him to 12th overall and ending New Zealand's campaign in Ireland two places short of the medal cut.

It's a tough way to finish for a sailor who had shown genuine top-10 form all week. The former ILCA 7 world champion climbed steadily through the elimination series, helped by a fourth-place finish earlier in the regatta, and looked to have the pace to be right in the mix come the medal races.

Not quite enough, in the end. Saunders was racing against a 141-boat fleet stacked with much of the sport's leading talent, and the margin between finishing in the medals and finishing 12th proved painfully thin.

Elsewhere in the New Zealand contingent, George Gautrey found some late form. He picked up his second top-10 race result of the elimination series on the final day of qualifying to move up to 25th overall, finishing eight places clear of fellow Kiwi Caleb Armit.

Armit's regatta told its own story of improvement. He started the championship down in 78th and worked his way into the top 40 on the back of two standout results on day two, eventually finishing 33rd as the third New Zealander through to the gold fleet.

Further back, George Pilkington finished 83rd and Zach Stibbe placed 111th.

At the sharp end, Hungary's Jonatán Vadnai claimed his first ILCA 7 world title, and Hungary's first medal in the event, with a composed display through the two-race medal series. He went into that decider fifth overall but made the points reset count, sailing to fourth and first to take the win.

Australia's Matt Wearn was the story of the final day. He won the opening medal race and followed it with a second-place finish to jump from ninth overnight to silver.

Britain's Mickey Beckett took bronze, finishing level on points with Wearn, while Italy's Lorenzo Chiavarini rounded out the top four.