Sailor Paula Lewin's Olympic medal hopes have been rocked by a decision to drop women's match racing from the Athens 2004 Games.

And although Lewin still hopes to be able to compete in Greece in some capacity, she is bitterly disappointed that the head-to-head racing at which she excels has been omitted from the regatta.

The news has also come as a blow to Lewin's regular crew of her sister Peta Lewin, Leatrice Roman and Lisa Neasham, who had been planning to stick together until at least 2004 with the stated aim of going for match racing gold.

Lewin is currently number six in the International Sailing Federation women's match racing rankings, has occasionally occupied top spot over the past two years and would have been among the favourites for a medal in Athens.

She said the International Sailing Federation Council's vote earlier this month to omit women's match racing from the Olympic regatta was "really sad''.

This week, Lewin and her crew will head for St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Women's Match Racing World Championships.

ISAF president Paul Henderson will be there and will be lobbied by the Women's International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) for the cause of Olympic match racing.

"It's just really sad,'' said Lewin. "These decisions are so political. If you step back and look at women's sailing, it's definitely match racing that's really booming.

"Financially, it's a cheaper sport than fleet racing. It's not that expensive to compete, because the boats are provided for you.'' Peta Lewin was equally dismayed and frustrated by the decision.

"This comes as a big blow to us and we are very disappointed,'' said Peta.

"We have always been fighting for a spot in the Olympics and we believed for the past half a year that it would be in next time. A lot of people have prepared for it, but now it's been dropped.

"I think there's still hope. The whole reason match racing came about was to attract spectators and sponsors, because it's a lot more understandable than regular fleet racing.'' Some in the sailing fraternity argue that match racing is the purest form of competition. Boats are provided and equalised, so who wins comes down to the decisions of the captains and skill of the crews, and not how much money they have behind their campaign.

Although a match racing regatta like Bermuda's own Gold Cup can be more complicated to organise than fleet racing, the head-to-head format and quick decisions by umpires, as opposed to long protest hearings behind closed doors, make it more spectator-friendly.

The ISAF Council decided by 19 votes to 13, with six abstentions, to exclude match racing from the 10 sailing events in Athens. But WIMRA believe the council were misinformed.

A spokeswoman for WIMRA said: "The ISAF Council was misled by being told there weren't enough countries participating in women's match racing, so the IOC (International Olympic Committee) would not accept it as an event. They were wrong.'' She said that the requirement to have 35 countries participating applied to the sport of sailing and not the discipline of match racing. And besides, she added, there were 38 countries currently competing in women's match racing anyway.

"Match racing is the future of our sport,'' added the spokeswoman. "Right now, fleet racing for women has been on the decline. Match racing is exploding. It is more economical, allowing for a more fair and diverse base of competitors.'' Paula Lewin, who finished 14th in the Europe dinghy class in the Atlanta Games before skipping Sydney this year mainly for financial reasons, is now considering her options for the next Olympics, presuming that match racing is absent.

Lewin's hopes rocked From Page 23 "The Yngling is the three-person keelboat for women's fleet racing in Athens, so I'll probably have to think about doing that,'' said the skipper. "But I really don't know yet.'' For now the Lewins and their two crew mates are turning their attention to their bid to become world champions.

The Bermudian crew will be one of eight seeded teams among the 24 competing nations. That means their regatta will start in the second phase of racing, a week today.

The championships have replaced the Osprey Cup, the annual match racing event in St. Petersburg.

Having finished second in the Osprey Cup last year and having won it the year before, Paula Lewin was hopeful of more success in the Sunshine State where she will take on the likes of her friend and great rival, American Betsy Alison.

"We know the boats and we know the area, so we will be comfortable there,'' said Lewin. "The format is better than last year with a lot more racing to do. I think we can do well.'' That sinking feeling: Paula Lewin's hopes of challenging for a medal at the 2004 Olympic in Games in Athens have been hurt by the International Sailing Federation Council's recent decision to omit women's match-racing from the regatta.