British crews leading charge for glory

Great Britain was ruling the waves going into the sixth day of the Olympic sailing with crews leading three of the nine fleet competitions.

It is the Yngling keelboat of Shirley Robertson, gold medallist in the Europe class in Sydney, and Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton that could triumph first.

Ayton said "It looks like it's between us and the Danes but I am trying not to think about where we are in the table. If that comes into my mind I dismiss it straight away."

Ben Ainslie had an eight point lead in the Finn class despite an earlier disqualification. "Just because I had a discard didn't mean I had to stop taking chances," said the Laser champion of Sydney.

"I've got to get results and wait until the final race to see if there is anything I need to address." The gap between the British 470 class boat of Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield and their American rivals was just six points. But Rogers, a disappointed fourth with his crew mate in Sydney, insisted: "We're older and wiser now.

"We were a different pair back then when we were a lot younger with so many things missing, such as skill, technique and mental toughness."