Sanita Puspure finished just outside the medals in the final of the women's single sculls at the World Rowing Championships in Florida.

The race was won by Switzerland's Jeannine Gmelin with Britain's Victoria Thornley in second. Austrian Magdalen Lobnig took bronze, edging out the Irish rower by just .35 of a second.

Puspure, who handled the choppy conditions well, put in a huge charge in the final 500m but she came up just short - finishing less than a quarter of a boat-length off the podium.

Finishing fourth in the world is an achievement having missed out on the final at last year's Rio Olympics, though it will be little consolation given how close she came.

"I’m a little bit disappointed," admitted Puspure. "I thought the way I rowed all week I could definitely medal and even win, but I didn’t row as well as I did previous days.

"But I can’t be too disappointed because I had a pretty rough season and my initial aim was to finish top nine. Fourth in the world, so I can’t complain."

In the end, the middle 1,000m cost her, when she fell too far behind the leaders and left herself too much to do. Thornley went off fast and held the early lead, though Gmelin gradually reeled her in and led for the second half.

Before the race there was a reshuffle in lanes, which saw the Latvian-born Old Collegian's oarswoman move from lane two to lane four in the 2,000m event.

This may have meant a rethink in her strategy as her new lane draw meant a little bit of extra shelter offered by the grandstands from the wind. Lobnig certainly suffered out in the wind in lane six, hitting a number of buoys and losing her stroke rhythm.

It has been a hugely successful World Rowing Championships for Ireland in Sarasota, with two gold medals and two further final appearances. Puspure was Ireland's last rower in action.

Paul O'Donovan won the men's lightweight single sculls with his brother Gary's illness meaning the pair weren't able to take part in the double lightweight sculls.

Men's lightweight pair Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll took the title in their category, while Denise Walsh and Puspure also made their respective finals.

Highlights of the World Rowing Championships are on RTÉ2 at 8.0pm on Sunday, 1 October.