Even more so in the Star class where a new suit of sails is required for every regatta (well perhaps not every, but close).  This means that getting the budget together for a campaign is possibly the hardest part

Perhaps Schiedt may be- but by no means for sure. First of all he has to get past Torben Grael, who rumour has it is not too shaby. He's only won at least two olympic Golds and 2 other medals in the class since 1988 and I 'm sure he got one in the soling in '84. He is also a fantastic light weather expert. Age and guile could be the winning combination in China over sheer strength and fitness in many classes there.

Ther's probably no class harder to predict the results in than the Star. Almost everyone in the top twenty are ex medalists or world champions. And remember no one has retained a Star worlds since 1982/83 [Gorostegui & Doreste] - that probably says more than anything about the level of competition at the top

On the comment about new sails being needed for every regatta - I can't think of many Olympic classes where that is not true for the top contenders. Thats just the way the game is nowadays. New sails are fast sails - would you take the chance with an old set if your funding depended on it? Sure keeps the stock of hardly used sails up for us lower down the food chain.