Bermudian Malcolm Smith landed third place in the 2002 Sunfish World Championships in Texas, USA, yesterday.

It was a bitter-sweet celebration for the sailor who, while delighted to be among the coveted top three positions, was naturally a bit disappointed to have relinquished what seemed an almost-certain second place on the last day of competition.

Smith was overtaken by American John Kolius during the first of yesterday's two races while Venezuelan Eduardo Cordero confirmed his status of being a cut above the rest by wresting the World title with a race to spare.

Having finished sixth (1999), fourth (2000) and tenth (2001) in the last three World Championships, Smith termed his performance "a good result".

"I have not had a result like that for a few years now so I am quite happy.

"Oh, yeah, I am disappointed to have missed out on second (place) but that's how it goes in sailing. You get used to it. It's not the first time. I have been leading World Championships going into the last day and lost more than once.

"Overall it's been a really good year for me. I am pleased with how the year has gone. There are a lot of people more disappointed than me after today. It was a tough day of sailing. The shifts were very big and they weren't constant. It was hard to put in good finishes," said the 43-year-old last night.

He noted that throughout the competition most sailors endured varying results; usually "getting one good race and one bad race". Only Cordero, he said, sailed "flawlessly for the whole regatta which gave him the edge".

There was an early inkling things would not go the Bermudian's way yesterday. In the first race at the Houston Yacht Club, he unwittingly picked up a penalty for "being over the line early".

"I guess I was a little eager to get a good start . . . I didn't know (that he had incurred the penalty) and so I scored a huge amount but this became my discard for the regatta. We did eight races and were allowed one throw-out.

"In the last race I needed to finish three boats in front of Kolius. I got on the wrong side of a shift shortly after the start and he got away. I caught up to him gradually through the race but it wasn't enough."

In that race, Kolius placed fifth while Smith was eighth.

Given that the Sunfish class has been omitted from the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, this was the Bermudian's last major regatta for 2002. Smith - who was second in both the South American and Caribbean Championships and the North American Championships this year - is already setting his sights on next season.

"I'm looking forward to the Pan Am Games next year in the Dominican Republic. I figure this is a good result for me, considering eight of the ten countries here will be participating in Pan Am."