Olympics - Sailing: Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne must complete the final three races of their 10-race series tomorrow after the Qingdao venue was again blighted by poor conditions today.
The Irish pair had been hoping to fight their way back into the top 10 during race eight and nine this morning but light and unstable winds on the Yellow Sea again left sailors in the doldrums.
O'Leary and Milne, who compete in the Star Keelboat class, are currently 14th in the overall standings. Only the top 10 progress to Thursday's medal race where the top three will be determined.
The Olympic regatta has been repeatedly hampered by poor conditions with light winds, followed by excessive winds over the weekend, leading to a number of postponements and cancellations.
Paul Goodison, meanwhile, defended his spoiling tactics after he secured Britain's third gold of the regatta and denied Sweden's Rasmus Myrgren a medal in the Laser class.
The Swede was in silver position going into the medal race but finished sixth overall.
Goodison, who had a commanding points advantage and could only be overhauled for gold by Myrgren, pinned back the Swede at the rear of the fleet to ensure his rival had no possibility of taking the victory he needed, while hoping Goodison finished last.
Myrgren limped home 10th and last and with his medal hopes extinguished. Slovenia's Vasilij Zbogar, the Athens bronze medallist, went one better this time and Italian Diego Romero secured bronze.
"It might not have been the best way to do it but with the conditions being so tricky, it was the best way of making sure of gold," Goodison told reporters.
"I apologised to Rasmus but I think he was still a bit stressed and upset about the race," the 30-year-old told a news conference.
"He was distraught and I can understand how he feels. I feel really sorry for Rasmus, I wish it had not happened to him but at the end of the day there can only be one winner."
Victory for Goodison made up for just missing out on a medal in Athens four years ago, after which he considered quitting the sport because of the frustration of coming fourth.