posted Sep 22nd, 2004 - Wednesday still turned out to be a quite busy day. The 8-way event has caught up and completed eight rounds, while the 4-way Women's event has only one more round to go. The 4-way Open class completed round seven in the afternoon and also the semifinals later. The finals are left for tomorrow.

The 8-way competition continues to be very close between the three top teams from the USA, France and Russia. None of the teams is able to pull away from the rivals. The highest scores for the rounds are evenly devided between all three teams. However, Arizona Airspeed had managed to win round three more significantly than any other team in any other round, and the US team defends this little advantage very successfully round by round.

Not much has changed in the 4-way Women's event. The teams completed only one more round today. USA and France once again posted the same scores with 14 points, nothing has changed in the race for the gold medal. However, there is only one more round left for the French team to catch up with the US team. It seems as if Synchronicity is too strong and confident to make a big enough mistake and allow France an opportunity to get closer.

The competition for the third place has caught on fire again after Italy Kewara posted the highest score for round nine. The Italian team outscored even the two top teams ahead of Kewara in the rankings. It was the first time in this meet that the Italian team lived up to the whole potential. It happened at the right time, the competition for the bronze medal is now wide open again. Kewara reduced the distance to the Russian Ladybirds to one single point.

Round ten is one of the fastest rounds of the meet and might offer the Italian team the better chances to make the final move at the very last moment. The Italian team seems to be a little bit quicker compared to the Ladybirds, and the highscore in round ten should give the Italians additional confidence.

It will be probably difficult for the Russian team to defend the one single point that is left. However, the Russian team includes very experienced competitors. The nerves will certainly be a part of the round ten situation. Kewara will have to put everything into the last chance for a medal. There is a risk involved.

DeLand Majik increased the lead over France Maubeuge to seven points in round eight. Nothing else changed much in the field. The best ten teams were called later for round nine and the semifinals. The best six teams will make it to round ten and the finals. There is no room for any surprises or significant changes in the rankings. The best six teams will include Germany EADS and Belgium Hayabusa. Round nine will still be a crucial part of the battle for the bronze medal between Italy and Russia. Stay tuned.