San San falls far behind Kendall
With three races to go, Lee Lai-shan has been left in almost the same predicament as last December's World Championship in Fremantle - but this time she might not have it her way.
Last year, she was 13 points behind the leader going into the last day of racing, but she achieved one of the most amazing comebacks to pip Italy's Alessandra Sensini by one point for the 1997 world title.
This year, in Brest, France, where the competition is being held, the 1996 Atlanta Games gold medallist has faded out of contention again and is now a massive 16 points behind arch-rival and leader Barbara Kendall in second place.
San San has defied the odds before but pundits in Brest think she won't do it again.
'It's just too much of a gap to bridge. Even if she wins her last three races, Kendall would have to do awful in all three of her races for Lee to win the title.
'I don't think that's going to happen,' said a race co-ordinator.
Lee was nine points behind Kendall going into yesterday's seventh race.
The Cheung Chau-based sailor had a poor day's racing, finishing ninth in race seven before improving slightly to finish fifth in race eight.
Kendall sailed consistently to snatch third place in race seven and then picked up more precious points when finishing second in race eight.
China's Zhang Chujun and Huang Ying have also drifted out of contention. Zhang, who was third overall on Thursday, has slipped to eighth place, one place behind Huang.
