British sailors Stevie Morrison and Southampton-born Ben Rhodes have called time on their 49er partnership after 12 years together.

The pair won the 2007 World Championships and finished ninth at the Olympics in Beijing the following year.

They improved to fifth at London 2012 but, having finished 11th at the recent 49er World Championship in Marseille, the pair have chosen to explore new sailing opportunities outside of the Olympic classes.

"We've had a great run over many years but I think the result at the recent Worlds just cemented our thinking that our partnership had probably run its course," Rhodes said.

"While we never achieved our ultimate goal of winning an Olympic medal, I think we gave it a pretty good go and I feel pretty proud of what we managed to achieve."

Royal Yachting Association manager Stephen Park said: "Stevie and Ben have been fantastic competitors at the front of the world 49er fleet for some years now.

"They have delivered great performances for Great Britain over the years, but ultimately didn't manage to deliver their best performances at the Olympic Games.

"I am sure they will go on to deliver many more top performances in other forms of the sport, and wish them well for the future."