| A look at the favourites for the medals in the | | | | partnership of Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page |
| 2008 Olympics sailing classes. Find out how the | | | | are the better team, winning the recent European |
| glamorous Yngling girls are expected to fare and | | | | Championship and a hat trick of World |
| see what Ben Ainslie needs to do to ensure Gold. | | | | Championships. How they respond to the pressure |
| Laser | | | | of the Olympics remains in question, as they |
| Since Laser Olympic champion Robert Scheidt | | | | returned from Athens without a medal. Other |
| graduated to the Star, young Australian Tom | | | | contenders include the French, Italians, Portuguese |
| Slingsby has become the dominant force in Laser | | | | and the teenage team from New Zealand, Carl |
| sailing. He has won the past two World | | | | Evans and Peter Burling, who have been making |
| Championships, although he has struggled to get | | | | great strides on the world circuit in between |
| down to the weight believed to be optimum for | | | | studying for their exams at school. |
| Qingdao. Britain's Paul Goodison is naturally smaller | | | | RS-X Windsurfing - Men |
| and lighter than most of his rivals and goes into | | | | With no limits on pumping the sail in light winds, |
| the Games undefeated on Olympic waters, having | | | | Qingdao is predicted to be a test of aerobic |
| won the past two Test Regattas. Kiwi Andrew | | | | fitness over sailing technique in the physically |
| Murdoch will have benefited from training with | | | | exhausting RS-X windsurfing class. New Zealand's |
| Goodison in the build-up, while Canadian Michael | | | | Tom Ashley has won the World Championship |
| Leigh has been one of the big improvers of the | | | | and the Olympic Test Regatta in the past year, |
| past year. | | | | although France's Julien Bontemps is a major |
| Finn | | | | threat, particularly in the lighter winds. China's |
| Ben Ainslie hasn't sailed much in the Finn since | | | | Yuanguo Zhou is dangerous in sub-planing |
| winning Olympic Gold four years ago, but he has | | | | conditions, but will struggle if the breeze kicks in, |
| won every regatta he's competed in and is the | | | | whereas Portugal's João Rodrigues and |
| reigning World, European and Olympic Test Event | | | | Great Britain's Nick Dempsey are strong medal |
| Champion. He is clear favourite for Gold in | | | | hopes if Qingdao serves up more than just the |
| Qingdao; anything else would be a disappointment. | | | | usual light-wind fare. |
| However, a number of sailors have pushed the | | | | RS-X Windsurfing - Women |
| Briton hard in the past year, notably Croatia's Ivan | | | | The high-point of Bryony Shaw's career to date |
| Gaspic, who particularly likes light winds, New | | | | has been Gold at the Olympic Test Regatta last |
| Zealand's Dan Slater, Canada's Chris Cook and | | | | year. A supremely fit athlete, the British sailor's |
| former world champion from Denmark, Jonas | | | | strengths are ideal for the conditions expected in |
| Hoegh-Christensen. Ainslie tends to start the | | | | Qingdao. However, Shaw is up against some highly |
| Olympic Regatta badly, but come roaring through | | | | decorated windsurfers, not least France's Faustine |
| at the latter stages. It could be closer than we | | | | Merret, Italy's Alessandra Sensini and New |
| expect. | | | | Zealand's Barbara Kendall, all of whom have |
| 49er | | | | tasted Olympic Gold. Such experience could prove |
| Exmouth school friends and sailing partners Stevie | | | | key, although many see Poland's Zofia Klepacka |
| Morrison and Ben Rhodes have been the most | | | | and Spain's Marina Alabau as the hottest |
| dominant team in the tough-to-sail 49er skiff class | | | | favourites, because they seem most comfortable |
| over the past two years. However, some wobbly | | | | across the full spectrum of wind conditions. |
| performances earlier in the season make the | | | | Star |
| 2007 world champions only marginal favourites for | | | | A small fleet, but with incredible depth of talent. |
| Gold ahead of reigning Olympic champions Iker | | | | Some teams have been trying to find the magic |
| Martinez and Xabi Fernandez. Aside from Spain, | | | | bullet, designing and building one-off boats in a bid |
| other threats to British Gold come from young | | | | to gain a small speed edge, including the British |
| Aussies Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin, who | | | | team Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson. At times |
| were surprise winners of the Worlds at the | | | | the Brits' ambitious development programme has |
| beginning of the year, along with Athens Silver | | | | seemed like an unnecessary distraction. Based on |
| medallists from the Ukraine, Rodion Luka and | | | | regatta results of recent months and years, |
| George Leonchuk. | | | | Brazilians Robert Scheidt (double Olympic |
| 470 Men | | | | Champion in the Laser) and Bruno Prada start as |
| Although they haven't excelled in the past year, | | | | marginal favourites ahead of a number of other |
| Britain's Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield are serious | | | | talented teams, notably the Swiss, French, |
| contenders for Gold in the 470. They have a | | | | Swedish and Kiwis. If the Brits can go into |
| reputation for overdelivering at the Games and | | | | Qingdao with confidence in their boatspeed, they |
| enjoy the pressure. On paper the Australian | | | | stand a good shot at a medal. |