Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    BOGOTA, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Colombian Andrey Quintero has lost his last opportunity of qualifying for August's Beijing Olympic Games after falling ill ahead of an Australian sailing competition, the Colombian Sailing Federation said on Monday.

    "I heard the sad news that the athlete had to abandon the last and the most important regatta, where the top nine athletes compete for a place in Beijing," said the Federation's president Felipe Castillo.

    Quintero flew to Australia on Feb. 3 and competed in the laser class at the Feb. 6-15 contest in Australia's Terrigal.

    "These are things that are out of our hands. We had hopes for Quintero. He had worked hard and had a decent chance," Castillo said.

    Castillo explained to Xinhua that Colombia had also been invited as a special guest in sailing by the Olympic Games organizers in 2008 because the nation had never taken part in the competition. But Colombia had turned down the invitation because it said it only wanted to be at the Games if it could meet the standard.

    Castillo said that the nation had boosted its sailing skills and was close to qualifying, and that it would continue to work hard, targeting the 2012 Games in London.