Pepper and Williams at the 2008 Star Worlds. Image copyright Fried Elliott http://www.friedbits.com
by SailRaceWin
Yachting New Zealand has produced an excellent guide to the NZ Olympic Sailing Team, the race schedule and the venue. New Zealand is represented in seven of the eleven sailing events, the Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, 470 Men, RS:X Men, RS:X Women and Star class. The youngest New Zealand sailing competitors are Carl Evans and Peter Burling (470 Men) aged 17, and the oldest is Olympic veteran Barbara Kendall (RS:X Women) at 40 years of age.
The RYA's Olympic 'runners and riders' guide picks Ainslie (GBR), Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) and Kiwi Dan Slater as the top prospects in the Finn. In the Laser, Paul Goodison (GBR) and Tom Slingsby (AUS) are their top picks, with Kiwi Andrew Murdoch and Gustavo Lima (POR) also mentioned. Favourites in the Laser Radial are Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) and Xu Lijia (CHN), who have been consistent top performers in the class. The RYA's view of the 470 Men is that Nick Roger and Jo Glanfield (GBR) are likely to fight for Gold with Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS). In the Star, Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) are forecast to clean up, with Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominic Zycki (POL) and the Kiwi team of Hamish Pepper (described as a 'wily old fox') and Carl Williams also mentioned as a 'formidable pairing'. Bryony Shaw (GBR)'s main competition in the Women's RS:X windsurfer is expected by the RYA to come from Marina Alabau (ESP) and New Zealand's Barbara Kendall. Mention in the RS:X Men, alongside Brit Nick Dempsey, is made of Joao Rodrigues (POR), winner of the 2008 European Championships.
On 7th August 2008, Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport did not predict any Kiwi sailing medals from Qingdao, but anticipated 5 medals for Italy and 4 medals each for the UK and Australia. Their favourites in New Zealand's Olympic classes are Ben Ainslie (GBR), Ivan Gaspic (CRO) and Rafael Villar (ESP) in the Finn; Tom Slingsby (AUS), Paul Goodison (GBR) and Rasmus Myrgren (SWE) in the Laser; Xu Lijia (CHN), Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) and Sari Multala (FIN) in the Laser Radial; Wilmot and Page (AUS), Zandona and Trani (ITA) and Rogers and Glanfield (GBR) in the 470 Men; Ricardo Santos (BRA), Shahar Zubari (ISR) and Zhou Yuanguo (CHN) in the RS:X Men; Alessandro Sensini (ITA), Yin Jian (CHN) and Marina Alabau (ESP) in the RS:X Women; and, finally, Scheidt and Prada (BRA), Negri and Viale (ITA) and Marazzi and De Maria (SUI) in the Star class.
SailRaceWin's tip for the best chance of an NZ sailing medal is Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams in the small (16 boat) but ultra-competitive Star boat class, followed by Dan Slater in the Finn dinghy, who finished second in this year's Finn Gold Cup (the Finn dinghy World Championships). Would-be medallists Sharon Ferris and her Yngling crew were not nominated to the NZ Olympic team, although medal slots in this class, aside from the British entry, are probably more open than in many other sailing classes at the 2008 Games. All the New Zealand sailors are capable of winning medals at the Olympics; whether or not they come home with a medal is more a question of who they are up against from other, equally determined, nations, and how things go on the day.
Gold Star, Pepper is a former Star World champion and his team's performances have been consistently at the top of the fleet, despite the presence of two-time Gold and one-time Silver (Laser) Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt (Brazil), current Star World Champion (and Finn bronze medallist) Mateusz Kusznierewicz (Poland), and other top Star sailors, such as Xavier Rohart (France), Fredrik Loof (Sweden), and Diego Negri (Italy).
The Olympics are a regatta apart and it is useful to have previous experience of both the ambience and length of the regatta. Sailors are used to being with friends from their own class at regattas, but at the Olympics they are embedded in national teams and a mix of boats. There are fewer sailors from each class, as only one boat from each nation can compete, if that nation has qualified for the Olympics, and the number of boats in each class is far smaller than at most events on the international circuit. There are also more races for each class than at most international events, so the competition is more intensive and longer lasting, requiring a high degree of both physical and mental stamina from the sailors. Demands from the media, etc, are regulated by team personnel, but such pressures exist at a higher level than in most events, alongside team contributions/feedback, day-to-day sailing preparation and general living requirements (food, drink, sleep).
Whilst many sailors, such as Russell Coutts in the Finn dinghy in 1984, strike Gold at their first attempt, many others improve to this level, either from medals of another metal or from lower down the rankings, at subsequent Olympics. The value of having been at an Olympic regatta before, in terms of improving subsequent performance, cannot be underestimated; neither can the value of having had the Gold experience, knowing the feeling and what it takes to make that winning formula. The UK's Ben Ainslie is probably the most certain tip for a Gold medal (in the Finn) at the 2008 Olympics in Qingdao.
The venue and conditions (wind, currents, sea state and weed) have the potential to make Qingdao a unique sailing Olympics, as do the regatta terms, which provide for the possibility of a result from just one race, to the advent of a final medal race for just the top ten competitors if the full schedule of races is held.
Check for updates on ISAF's website, the official 2008 Olympic sailing website and YachtingNZ's website. TVOne will carry televised coverage of the Olympics in New Zealand, which will be accessible online too. The time difference between the Olympic sailing venue and New Zealand means that at the daily scheduled race start time of 1pm it will be 5pm in New Zealand, as New Zealand is four hours behind the time zone of the sailing venue, Qingdao, China.
New Zealand's Olympic Sailing Representatives 2008
Laser: Andrew Murdoch
Laser Radial: Jo Aleh
Finn: Dan Slater
470 Men: Carl Evans and Peter Burling
RS:X Men: Tom Ashley
RS:X Women: Barbara Kendall
Star: Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams
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