Lee Lai-shan's bid to win successive women's mistral titles on the European circuit were dashed when mother nature intervened on day four of the SPA Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands. A lack of winds on the penultimate day saw races seven and eight being cancelled and resulted in Hong Kong's ace windsurfer having to concede defeat to Frenchwoman Lise Vidal, who was in an unassailable position with one race to go. San San won the European Championships a fortnight ago and had hoped to add another notch on her belt. San San, who was trailing Vidal by 11 points in the overall standings, had three races left to catch her rival. But the lack of winds on Saturday saw organisers cancel both races, making it impossible for Hong Kong's 1996 Olympic gold medallist to overhaul her rival. 'No racing took place today and with only one discard for the series, Lise Vidal has already secured the title. One more race remains and the fight will now be for second and third place,' said Hong Kong coach Rene Appel. San San's bid for a double encountered problems on the very first day when she rounded the wrong mark in the second race, resulting in her having to retire. This saw her tumble down the rankings and although she discarded that result, it cost her hugely with Vidal securing top-three finishes in all but one of the six races completed. China's Yin Jian lies in third position and trails San San by one point. Hong Kong's other two female competitors, Chan Wai-kei and Chan Wai-man, are in ninth and 16th place overall. In the men's fleet, Ho Chi-ho was in sixth position on 19 points and trailing leader Jon Paul Toibin of New Zealand by 14. Chan King-yin was lying 13th overall, Cheng Kwok-fai was 26th while youngster Yu Wing-ho was 38th. The Hong Kong squad were due to return home after this event. But fears that the Sars issue would create problems led to local officials making arrangements for the squad to stay in Europe and continue training. Hong Kong's next big assignment is the Pre-Olympics Regatta in Athens in August followed by the mistral World Championships in Cadiz, Spain, in September.
