Sailing medals at 2008 Games could be decided in a day

BEIJING, Dec 13 (Reuters) Possible lack of winds at the 2008 Olympic sailing events in China's port city of Qingdao could mean organisers hold all medal races in a single day, a Chinese Olympic official said today.

Pre-competition concerns about winds in August at Qingdao, 800 kms from Beijing, have dogged officials and sailors.

But Wang Haitao, Qingdao Olympic sailing committee spokesman, told a media conference today: ''Luckily the International Sailing Federation has a new regulation in place.

''During the Olympics, we just need one windy day... in order to award the medals in the nine classes.'' Wang said that 92 percent of races at last August's Qingdao international regatta had been completed -- a figure that boosted his confidence.

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