Australia took gold in the postponed men’s two-hander 470 sailing class at the London Olympics yesterday with Britain taking silver.

Overall leaders and pre-event favourites Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, triple world champions, edged a tight contest with their British challengers Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell who were lagging just behind going into the title decider.

Patience and Bithell were runners-up to Belcher and Page in the 2011 world champ-ionships.

Racing was called off on Thursday because of a lack of wind but the men’s event got under way at noon with the women’s to follow.

The sailors faced different conditions yesterday with the wind for the first time coming from the southeast but Australia mastered it best to prevail.

The race for bronze saw Argentina’s Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente deny Italy’s Gabrio Zandona and Pietro Zucchetti.

Later, New Zealand’s women sailors fulfilled a pledge to go one better than their men by winning gold in the 470 class.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie sailed serenely round the short Nothe course untroubled by the British team of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, who took silver having entered the medal race joint-first.

Aleh had joked about beating the New Zealand men earlier in the week when their compatriots Peter Burling and Blair Tuke came second to Australia in the men’s 49er skiff.

The Netherlands team of Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout won the bronze after a tight finish with France’s Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron.