ANDREW Simpson admitted he and skipper Iain Percy had been left “frustrated” after missing out on Olympic gold, but confessed competing on home waters had been a “huge honour”.

Sherborne’s Simpson and best mate Percy, gold medallists in Beijing four years ago, had been leading the Star class ahead of yesterday’s medal race.

But the duo were rocked as Sweden’s Freddie Loof and Max Salminen gate-crashed the party to win the medal race and leave the British crew with a silver medal.

With the Swedes crossing the line first, Simpson and Percy needed to finish in the top-six boats and could only manage eighth.

Their main rivals throughout the regatta, Brazil, ended with a bronze medal.

Simpson said: “Just to compete in the Olympics in Great Britain is a huge honour and we had a great time doing it. The training for it was fantastic.

“We are quite frustrated but getting silver and sailing with one of your best friends, we will look back at this in years to come and be really proud.”

Percy added: “We must be the saddest silver medallists out there. It is personally very painful to lose in that way, having sailed a good week but that’s the nature of sport.

“It was such wacky conditions, so puffy, and you can never guarantee it all. We approached the line and it wasn’t looking that good to be honest.

“A tiny little puff came in the other side and there’s not much you can do at that point. That’s the nature of sailing on that course. We tried our hardest but it wasn’t to be.”

The silver medal made Percy the joint second most successful British Olympic sailor of all time, equalling Rodney Pattisson’s achievement of two golds and one silver medal.

Percy won his first Olympic medal with gold in the Finn class at Sydney 2000 before claiming Star gold with Simpson at Beijing 2008. Yesterday’s medal was Simpson’s second, having won gold in the Star with Percy in Beijing.