All About Olympic Modern Pentathlon- Jacks of all trades

Sailing races are held on courses marked off with buoys. The race committee decides the course for each race, based on wind direction, and is responsible for laying the necessary buoys each day, and repositioning them if the weather shifts.

The two types of courses used are called windward return and trapezoidal. A windward-return course, mandatory for 49ers and Tornados, requires boats to sail into the wind to one mark, then return with the wind to a second mark.

A trapezoidal layout is a four-leg course with separate starting and finish lines. The advantage of this design is that it allows two races to run simultaneously on one course with minimum interference.

In fleet racing, also known as group racing, the winner is the first boat to cross the finish line. Each class of boat races 11 times, with the exception of the 49er class, which has 16 races. Boats are allocated points for their finish in each race, and the winner is the boat with the lowest accumulated score at the end of the series.

The Beijing Olympics will feature a total of 11 sailing events for men's, women's and mixed competition. Sailing is one of only three Olympic sports, along with badminton and equestrian events, where men and women compete head to head.

470

An Olympic-class boat since the 1976 Montreal Games, 470s are named for their length - 4.7m, or 470 centimetres. Women began racing 470s in Olympic competition in 1988. 470s have a jib and mainsail and are distinguishable from other smaller boats by their large spinnaker and trapeze.

Laser

The world's most popular sailboat didn't make its Olympic debut until the Atlanta Games in 1996. Its single-sail, centreboard design was created by sailor and yacht designer Bruce Kirby, who represented Canada in three Olympics and designed two America's Cup boats. Men will race the Laser, known for its especially fast turns, at the Beijing Games.

Laser Radial

This one-person boat will make its debut for female competitors at the 2008 Summer Games. A variant of the standard Laser, the Laser Radial has a reduced sailing area and shorter mast, making it easier for light sailors to sail in heavy winds.

Windsurfers

Windsurfing was introduced as an Olympic event in 1984, with women joining the ranks in 1992.

While windsurfers are known for their stunts and wave-jumping, Olympic windsurfers are only concerned with speed, and the goal is the same as every other sailing class: finish first.

Star

The Star is the "grand old lady" of Olympic sailing. It was first introduced at the 1932 Los Angeles games and has made an appearance at every Olympics since. It is the only double-keeled (fixed centreboard) boat in the Olympic boat classes. The Star is the second-largest boat, but has the largest mainsail area at 22.35 square metres. Men will race this two-person open class boat at the Beijing Games.

Yngling

This boat made its Olympic debut for women at the 2004 Athens Games. The Yngling (pronounced ING-ling) is a small, sleek keelboat designed to be sailed by three "average-sized" people.

Besides being very light and easy to sail, the Yngling's main claim to fame is that it is virtually unsinkable - even when filled with water.

49er

The 49er is a light double-handed dinghy that made its debut at the 2000 Olympic Games. Many of the principal features of the 49er are relatively new to the sailing world. It uses a double trapeze, and its shape causes much less drag than any other boat. It has an asymmetrical spinnaker out on a pole beyond the bow of the boat.

One potential hazard is its instability: it is prone to capsizing and breaking down in winds exceeding 20 knots. The 49er is one of three mixed sailing events on the agenda in Beijing.

Finn

In 1949, Richard Sarby designed the Finn, a single-handed dinghy described by experts as perhaps the purest athletic experience in world-class sailing. It has a reputation for being fast and easy to sail. The Finn has a huge sail area and a bigger broad beam, meaning that a bigger, stronger sailor usually gets the best results from this boat.

First introduced in 1952, the Finn remains the oldest continuous class in Olympic sailing and is basically unchanged from its original design. Mixed teams will race this boat at the 2008 Summer Games.

Tornado

Tornados are the fastest boats in Olympic sailing. Designed in 1966, this multi-hulled class can reach speeds of up to 30 knots.

It is not an easy boat to maneuver, and can be extremely challenging to sail. It's also visually dramatic: it often skims along with one hull in the water while sailors perch high above the water on the other. The Tornado became an Olympic class in 1972 and is open to mixed teams at the Beijing Games.

The sport formerly known as Yachting was introduced at the 1900 Olympics, and featured expensive boats as big as 20 tons, often sailed by aristocrats with grandiose names

In recent years, though, the event has tried to play down its image as a sport for the wealthy. Following the Atlanta Games, the name was officially changed to sailing, with good justification: most of the boat classes are small dinghies and sailboards, which can hardly be called yachts.

Boats are now weighed in kilograms, not tons, and the focus is on the sailing and athletic abilities of the competitors, rather than the boats, making today's Olympic sailing a legitimate sporting spectacle.

One of the greatest names in sailing is Denmark's Paul Elvstrom. He won Olympic gold medals in succession from 1948 to 1960 in the Finn, a single-handed dinghy.

Elvstrom is one of only three athletes in any sport to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event - the others being Al Oerter in the discus and Carl Lewis in the long jump.

Elvstrom came out of retirement to place fourth in Tornado class with his daughter Trine in 1984. The elder Elvstrom still wasn't finished, however. Four years later at the age of 60, competing in his eighth Olympics, he and his daughter partnered up again, this time finishing 15th. Then Elvstrom finally sailed into the sunset after an Olympic career that spanned 40 years.

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