Defending champions Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes settled for silver at the 49er World Championships, one day after being named in Britain's Olympic squad.
The duo began the last day in Melbourne as joint leaders with Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin but the Australian pair edged away on the final lap.
"We're pleased with how we sailed and with silver," said Rhodes.
"Our eyes are on the bigger prize. If we have to swap our world title for Olympic gold we'll be happy with that."
Morrison and Rhodes had only won the world crown in Portugal in July but, with the Olympics to come later in the year, this year's championships were held earlier than normal.
The final race to decide the medals was sailed in gusts of 15-18 knots and on choppy waters.
The Australians took advantage of the conditions to snatch gold from the Britons by four points with Ukraine duo Rodion Luka and George Leonchuk third.
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Morrison said: "They were a bit quicker than us in that breeze. There was nothing we could do about it."
British pair Paul Campbell-James and Mark Asquith also scored a top-10 finish, crossing sixth in the final medal race to end their regatta ninth overall.
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