New Zealand's George Lane won men's gold at the ILCA 6 Youth and Men World Championships ©Getty Images

New Zealand's George Lane won the final race to seal the men's title at the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) 6 Youth and Men World Championships in the Polish town of Dziwnów.

Lane finished in the top five of all 12 races at the World Championships, staged from Marina Dziwnow on the Baltic Sea.

However, it was Montenegro's Nikola Golubović who led going into the final day with his tally of 26 points, which was one clear of Britain’s Terry Hacker and three ahead of Lane.

Another Briton in Jon Emmett forced his way into contention with victory in the first race of the final day, his compatriot Oliver Allen-Wilcox placing second, Golubović third and Lane fourth.

However, Lane sailed to his fourth victory of the World Championships in the final race to finish on 35 points, and Golubović's sixth-place effort meant he had to settle for second overall with 37.

Emmett finished second in the 12th race to secure third place with 38, followed by Allen-Wilcox with 46 and Hacker, who placed seventh and eighth in the last two races, with 51.

A total of 15 athletes competed in the men's event.

Italian sailors won both youth titles in Dziwnów.

Mattia Cesana dominated the men's competition with 62 to the 90 of Ukraine's Dima Karabadzhak and 104 of The Netherlands' Hidde Schraffordt.

Emma Mattivi led an Italian one-two in the women's youth event, finishing with 54.

Ginevra Caracciolo was second with 68 and The Netherlands' Roos Wind third with 80.

Only a women's event in the laser radial class has featured at the Olympic Games since its debut at Beijing 2008.

ILCA 7 was held as an open competition at the Olympics from Atlanta 1996 until Athens 2004, but only a men's event has been staged since Beijing 2008.

The ILCA 6 Women's World Championship is due to be held in Scheveningen in The Netherlands from August 10 to 20.