Malta 49er came within a whisker of booking their place in next August’s Olympics this week when they sailed in a decisive round of the World Championships that are being staged in Zadar, Croatia.

Benji Borg and Sebastian Ripard were pinning their hopes of claiming one of the remaining five slots at stake on this week’s races as 78 teams, representing 32 nations, were in Zadar for this key stage of the championships that lead up to the London Games.

The series of qualifiers in the 49er category started last year and 15 teams had already won their Olympic quota before this week.

In Zadar, 17 teams were vying for the remaining five slots available.

In the end, the successful teams were Bermuda, Japan, Greece, Canada and Italy. Malta finished next in line, just one position outside the top-five bracket.

“Qualification was within our grasp but we just didn’t manage to step up high enough to the challenge,” Ripard was quoted as saying on www.malta49er.com.

“It all boiled down to the last day of racing in the qualifying series... we just didn’t sail well enough when it counted most, that’s the brutal truth.”

Borg and Ripard had failed to sail in the previous leg of the World Championships in Perth, Australia, after an injury sustained by Borg during training.

However, they continued to train seriously for the Zadar races under the watchful eyes of coaches Kolja Volkers and Max Groy.