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There is very little movement in any of the classes as the main protagonists have been training on the Saronic Gulf in Athens for some time now. What the rankings do provide is a vehicle to see the how the Olympic Sailing Competition affects the positions of Athletes who compete.

Following the Olympic Games, the next ISAF World Sailing Rankings will be released on 2 September. The Olympic Sailing Competition is considered as a high graded event and can have a huge effect on the rankings that immediately follow its conclusion.

During the build up to the start of the Olympic Sailing Competition and following the launch of the new look ISAF Athens 2004 Microsite, ISAF is releasing a series of preview articles detailing the runners and riders in each of the eleven events. For those previews already published - Europe, Finn and Laser - simply follow the link to read the latest from Athens.

Windsurfer Men and Women - Mistral

There is no change at the top of the Windsurfer Men or Women and the fleets are lead by French sailors Julien BONTEMPS and Faustine MERRET respectively. A full preview on the Mistral class will be published on Sunday 8 August.

Single-handed Dinghy Women - Europe

Siren SUNDBY (NOR) surprisingly leads an almost static rankings in the Europe class of which many of the top sailors are now firmly embedded at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre in Athens. ISAF published a full preview of what's to come in Athens on Friday 30 July. To read the full article Click Here.

Keelboat Men - Star

Again, no change in the Star Class with World Champions Freddie LOOF and Anders ELKSTROM (SWE) still topping the table. A full preview of the Star Class will be published on the ISAF Website at www.sailing.org on Saturday 7 August.

Keelboat Women - Yngling

The Yngling fleet has surprisingly seen a fair movement amongst the top of the fleet. Kristin WAGNER and her crew of Anna HOLL and Veronika LOCHBRUNNER (GER), who will be representing their country in Athens, have moved into second position behind leading skipper Dorte JENSEN.

Guiglia CONTI (ITA) has made further in roads by popping up from sixth into third. This movement is perhaps more surprising when one considers that the only additional event included in this rankings release is the ISAF Graded Open European Championship, which saw a grand total of 17 all female crews out of the 81 boats present.

ISAF will publish a full preview of the Yngling at the Olympic Sailing Competition on the ISAF website www.sailing.org on Friday 6 August.

Multihull Open - Tornado

There is no change in the Multihull Open world sailing rankings, with Austrian Olympians Roman HAGARA and Peter STEINACHER still leading from Dutchmen Mitch BOOTH and Herb DERCKSEN. A full preview of the multihull sailors in Athens will be published on Monday 9 August.

Single-handed Dinghy Men - Finn

Yesterday, ISAF published a preview of the Single-handed Dinghy Men's event in Athens. There is limited change in the top six with Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ (POL) still leading from Rafa TRUJILLO (ESP). One of the biggest movers is the emergence of Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN (DEN) from tenth to sixth place, this follows Andrew (BART) SIMPSON's drop from fifth to seventh. Simpson has pushed Britain's Olympic representative Ben AINSLIE all the way leading up to Athens, but Olympic selection was out of reach, and it will be defending World Champion Ainslie who will be on the start line.

To read the full Olympic preview article on the ISAF website, please Click Here.

Double-handed Dinghy Open - 49er

Very little change in the 49er as Chris DRAPER and Simon HISCOCKS (GBR) still lead the world going into the Olympic Games. Tim WADLOW and Pete SPAULDING (USA) have been training and competing hard since their selection as the USA representatives in Athens and with today's ranking release have seen a climb of one place from fourth to third behind Marcus BAUR and Max GROY from Germany.

A full Athens preview for the fleet will be published on the ISAF website on Thursday 5 August.

Double-handed Dinghy Men and Women - 470

The 470 fleet are including Warnemunde Week amongst their included regattas in this world rankings release and there is a limited amount of movement in both fleets. Ingrid PETITJEAN and Nadege DOUROUX (FRA) still lead the ladies fleet from Jenny ARMSTRONG and Belinda STOWELL (AUS).

In the men's fleet the ever dominant Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS) are still at the top, followed by movers and 2003 World Champions Gabri ZANDONA and Andrea TRANI from Italy, pushing Nick ROGERS and Joe GLANDFIELD (GBR) down to third place.

ISAF will be publishing a full preview of the 470 class in Athens tomorrow, Wednesday 4 August.

Single-handed Dinghy Open - Laser

The Laser fleet, as always have a huge number of graded events worldwide and this time around is no different. With over 250 sailors ranked on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings for the Laser class it is of no surprise that there is movement all the way through the rankings. The top three remain the same however, and ISAF published today a full preview of the Laser fleet who will be on the start line in Athens. To read the full article Click Here.

The Olympic Sailing Competition of the 2004 Olympic Games takes place from 14-28 August from the Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre in Athens, Greece. Racing takes place on four courses on the Saronic Gulf and measurement and boat allocation has already begun at the Olympic Sailing Venue.