Joy of SAR flag flying for first time at Games tempered by golden girl falling foul of equipment regulations

Lee Lai-shan had her sails trimmed yesterday when Olympic officials ruled her favourite mast violated regulations. Hong Kong's windsurfing queen was told the mast was 30 grams over the allowable limit.

This was revealed at the official measurement of the athletes' windsurfing equipment by the International Mistral Class Association at the Rushcutters Bay venue. The rule infringement came as the Athletes' Village officially welcomed the Hong Kong team and the Bauhinia flag was raised for the first time at an Olympics.

Thirty grams! That is far less than the weight of the gold medal San San won four years ago at the Atlanta Games. But sailing officials said it was significant and have shown the red light to San San asking her to make the necessary adjustments.

Hong Kong coach Rene Appel has lodged an appeal as the mast is San San's favourite and has been rigorously tested. 'She has been training with this mast for the past month and it is her favourite. I can't really understand why we have to do this. I could understand if the mast was lighter as that might help during competition. But a heavier mast has no correlation to performance,' Appel said yesterday.

Unlike in previous Games, this is the first time that teams are allowed to bring their own equipment - boards, sails, masts etc. At Atlanta, all the equipment was of one standard and given to the teams. Accompanying the freedom to bring in one's own equipment were stringent tests where the weight of masts, area of sails, length of boards are measured.

While Ho Chi-ho, Hong Kong's representative in the men's mistral, met no problems, San San fell foul of the system. Appel is hoping San San will not have to make any last-minute adjustments. She has already identified which two boards - out of five she brought along - she will use during the competition. 'We have prepared well . . . and now this. We have asked if we can be given tolerance,' said Appel.