Just another regatta?

Two time medallist Ian Walker looks at what makes the Olympics such a special regatta

Make no mistake every competitor at the Olympic Games will feel the pressure. Nobody wants to let themselves, their team mates or their country down on the world stage. For sailors the Olympics is the one chance you get every four years to be on the same world stage as all the other sports. At the end of the day an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal - it doesn’t matter which sport you win it in. And if you fail it is a long wait to the next Olympics and there is no guarantee you’ll get another chance.

Past results have shown that Olympic medals are normally won by proven performers in any class. Individuals and teams that have won medals at other major international events are best equipped to deal with the pressure that surrounds the Olympics.

In the two Olympic Games that I have competed in I have experienced very different build-ups and pressures. For me they presented the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of preparation and expectation.

In Savannah in 1996 John Merricks and I (above) were World ranked number 1 in the 470 class and had a long list of International victories to our names. We were ‘expected’ to win a medal - if not Gold. The plus side of this was that we were used to winning big events and we knew we could do it. But the downsides were that we had to deal with everybody trying to ‘shoot us down’ and the internal pressure not to change too much or to let ourselves down. Prior to the Games it was hard to maintain our momentum and it was always tempting to not change too much. The risk here is over-conservatism while everybody else is making gains. Racing as a favourite can be hard and we had to survive very testing conditions in Savannah and several protests against us on the water to win the silver medal by 1 point on the last leg of the last race. The self belief and confidence carried us through - but only just.

In Sydney 2000 I was relatively new to helming the Star and despite some good international results with my crew Mark Covell few people expected us to medal. Here it was a totally different experience. Free from the pressure of expectation we took some risks in our equipment and strategy and it all came together as we ended up finishing 1 point from Gold in a dramatic last race. If we had all raced again the following week the results may have been totally different but we stuck to our plan of taking opportunities when they arose and paid little attention to everybody else until the last race.



Ian Walker and Mark Covell in the Star

When you see sailors interviewed prior to the Games about dealing with the pressure of the Olympics they often trot out their intention to treat the Olympics ‘just like any other event’. This is absolutely the right approach - but is it feasible? My advice to them is that this is far easier said then done. The Olympics is not like any other event. If you need convincing here are a few reasons why:

1. It is likely to be the most important sailing event that you have ever done.
2. You are not just representing yourself and your crew, but you are representing your country.
3. Everybody you know and millions more that you don’t will be following your every move.
4. Personally you will want to sail better than ever before and the internal and external pressures will make even simple decisions become hard.
5. In some classes the fleet will be much smaller than normal championships, This must affect your tactics.
6. It is all about finishing in the top 3.
7. There is an inordinately long build up and the event will seem long and tiring.
8. For the technical classes measurement that will be stricter than you ever normally experience.
9. On shore you will be surrounded by country team mates from different classes and not in your normal fleet environment.
10. You will have more support and external advice than normal as your governing body tries to help as much as they can - beware it does not always help!
11. The security and bureaucracy that surrounds the Olympics can wear you down. It doesn’t matter who you are - if you lose your accreditation or leave it at the Olympic Village you will not be allowed into the marina.
12. It is hard to meet up with family and friends who will not have accreditation to enter venues or accommodation.
13. Opening ceremonies can be long and arduous with hours and hours of standing around in high temperatures.
14. You will be living in an Olympic Village and surrounded by people you have never met before. While the food is excellent it may be different to what you are used to and there is a lot more of it!.

Experience of the Games can help you deal with all of these issues but it can’t take them away. Many people under-perform at the Olympics in a variety of sports (it is a fact that few World records are ever broken at the Games, despite the athletes all peaking for this event). Those that are best prepared for what lies ahead and succeed in treating it much the same as any other regatta will give themselves the best chance of success.