The Star and Tornado teams contest Thursday's medal races with winds forecasted in the 10-12 knot range for the final day of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sailing regatta. The competitors boast a wealth of experience, with several world championship and Olympic medalists on show.

Star (Men's Keelboat)

Six of the teams in the medal race have won the Star World Championship: Sweden, Great Britain, Brazil, France, Poland and New Zealand. Eight teams have a chance of taking medals because only 18 points separate those between third and eighth place.

Fredrik Loof of Sweden, the 2001 and 2004 world champion and his compatriot Anders Ekstrom, the 2004 world champion, have a 3.3 point average in the opening series.

The British, Brazilians and French are within striking distance of gold, while Marazzi and De maria Switzerland are in the mix for silver.

The Polish, Portuguese and German teams have a shot at the bronze medal.

Percy and Simpson of Great Britain can be expected to sail an aggressive first leg.

There is not a weak team in the fleet and there is a good chance of a photo finish.

Tornado (Multihull Mixed)

Just as with the Stars, eight Tornado teams have a shot at a medal.

This medal race represents the swansong for the Tornado, which has been in the Olympics since 1976; the Multihull Sailing discipline has been removed from the London 2012 Olympic event list.

Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz from Spain, the 2005 and 2007 world champions, sit three points ahead of Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby of Australia, the 2008 world champions.

Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola from Argentina won four of the 10 opening series races. If they manage to put four boats between them and the Spaniards and one boat between them and the Australians, they can win gold.

Johannes Polgar and Florian Spalteholz of Germany could also challenge for the gold medal.

Seven teams have a shot at silver and eight teams have a fighting chance for bronze.

(BOCOG, August 21, 2008)