Young Bermudian Jesse Kirkland has won a silver medal at the World Optimist Championships in the Canary Islands off Spain - the highest finish in 41 years by a sailor from the North American region.

While elder brother Zander prepared for action today at the Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic, 15-year-old Jesse showed he wasn't about to be upstaged within his own family.

Ranked fourth in the world going into the IODA World Championships, Kirkland turned the screws on other top contenders when he snatched two firsts and a second last Friday to move into fourth overall.

On Saturday, the last day of the regatta, the Bermudian put in another consistent performance to secure second place overall with a third in the final race, beating out top youngsters from Argentina, Poland and Greece as well as threatening the eventual gold medallist and defending champion from Croatia, Filiup Matika.

The Croatian was in jeopardy of losing his title based on a protest from Argentina but the jury decided only to hand out a "droppable penalty" allowing him to retain his five-point advantage.

Meanwhile, two of four Bermuda "freshmen" at the regatta also finished in the top half of the fleet.

Oliver Riihiluoma ended in 60th place with two top ten finishes while Sean Bouchard placed 71st, having also enjoyed two finishes in the top ten.

Bermuda's William Hutchings finished 165th and Cameron Pimental 190th.

Bermuda's Argentina coach Pablo Weber had high praise for the Island youngsters, noting their final team position of 15th out of 41 was the highest ever for Bermuda at the Worlds.

Three sailors in the top half of the fleet, he said, was an "admirable feat" given the size of Bermuda's population.

"The wind (12-20 knots) was less than I expected. This made it more difficult for Jesse, but was better for the little ones at their first Worlds," explained Weber.