Britain to race for gold

New Zealand's 2011 World Champions Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie were out to get one over the New Zealand men who won silver in the 49er class earlier on Wednesday.

"I guess they couldn't improve on silver. We can really try to do better than the men," Aleh said. "It looks like it's all on for the medal race."

Britain's 2012 World Champions Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark outraced the Kiwis in the last of the two qualifying races to draw level on 33 points each.

Competing on the Portland Harbour course in southwesterly winds of up to 10 knots, Mills and Clark they had to sail their best against the New Zealand pair and the Dutch team after coming eighth in the first race, adding: "We now just need to finish off."

The Dutch pair of Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berghout lie in third place overall with 52 points, three ahead of the French team of Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron.

Westerhof had only one thing on her mind "and that is to win bronze", she said. A Dutch team official told Reuters Westerhof would return to flying after the Games - she is a 747 pilot for the Dutch airline KLM.