Yachting: Aleh and Powire finish fourth at 470 Worlds

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie have finished fourth at the 470 world championships in Barcelona, Spain overnight.

The pair of Aucklanders went into the final double-point medal race for the top ten competitors ranked third with only one point separating them from the lead boat.

But, a seventh place finish only gave them 14 points, as the British team of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clarke were crowned champions.

In the previous two world championships Aleh and Powrie won a silver and bronze medal.

In 13 races at the world champs they only had two races where they finished outside the top ten, as last years' world champions from Spain finished 17th.

In the 470 men's event, Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders took part in one final gold fleet race (for those not in the medal race) and finished second as they moved up to 21st overall.

Sara Winther also moved upward after two more races at the laser radial world championships in Germany and is 30th overall as the field heads in to the last two races of the regatta tomorrow (monday); at this event, the laser radials will not sail a medal race.

Aleh and Powrie, Snow-Hansen and Saunders alongside Winther will all represent New Zealand at the 2012 Olympic Games ten weeks from now.