KEY POINTS:
Tom Ashley, Barbara Kendall and Jo Aleh are all well placed in their fleets at the Qingdao Olympic regatta and remain the likeliest kiwis to get medals in sailing.
Ashley leads in the RS:X boardsailing, after a fourth and a third in races six and seven yesterday. In the sixth, he rocketed up from a perilous position in 28th around the third mark, using his skills in the wind to shoot right up to fifth place by the next mark.
He did the same thing on Saturday, in lighter wind, showing that this skilled boardsailor has the talent to do the job, no matter what the weather.
Kendall is similarly maintaining her composure and sailed to a fourth and third in races six and seven yesterday and now stands fifth overall.
Kendall revelled in the windier conditions to put in a performance to suggest the evergreen boardsailer can't be counted out as a chance to add a fourth Olympic medal to her impressive career haul.
Kendall, 40, continued her steady improvement to lie just six points behind the bronze medal spot, which is held by Australia's Jessica Crisp.
Jo Aleh, in the Laser Radials, came 14th in her sixth race yesterday but is still in third place overall after leading the fleet previously. She remains a real chance.
- Paul Lewis, agencies
