Who is on form?

We take a look at the runners and riders for the Olympic Test Event starting this week in China

The Pre-Olympics are due to start tomorrow, Wednesday, in Qingdao, China, the venue for the sailing in the 2008 Olympic Games. With only one boat per nation allowed to enter - unlike the 2006 Test event - this regatta is to all intents and purposes a dry run of the Olympic Games proper next summer.

As has been widely predicted the venue for this regatta is likely to have very light winds which, coupled with the strong currents and occasional fog will make life particularly difficult for the competitors out on the water. These conditions dominated racing at last years Test Event, though there was more breeze than anticipated near the end of the regatta (below). Currently those we have spoken to have reported good winds so far with the occasional properly breezy day. However, it is expected for the wind to be light for the next week, with between five and seven knots forecast for the next seven days (to see a seven day forecast for Qingdao click here.)



The likely wind conditions make predicting possible outcomes at the regatta difficult. In particular with the recent ISAF World Sailing Championships taking place in what was predicted to be a windy conditions many sailors will have bulked up for those championships, so many are not the weight they will be aiming for at the Olympic Games in August next year.

Oddly – and this is something which must be rectified - the regatta organisers have seen fit not to publish an entry list for any classes. So our class by class form guide is based upon who we know to be going.



Laser:

The young Australian, Tom Slingsby, will be the one to watch in the Laser class. Slingsby has, so far this year been second in the Rolex Miami OCR, second in the Semaine Olympique Francaise, first in the Breitling Regatta, first at the European Championships and first at the ISAF Sailing World Championships. Clearly, then, he is a force to be reckoned with, however, many believe Slingsby is at his best in heavy winds. Will he be able to come up with a win at this light wind event?

Paul Goodison (GBR) took victory at the Olympic Test Event in 2006 and will be looking to do the same again here. Goodison has had a number of good results this year though outright wins have been a little thin on the ground. A fifth at the recent World Championships is a solid result so Goodison should be feeling confident heading into this year’s Test Event.

Andrew Murdoch (NZL) took third position in China last year and comes to this year’s regatta fresh from taking second at the ISAF Sailing World Championships. Murdoch has had a number of podium finishes in major events this year; however, on occasion he has had some disappointing results such as a 16th at the Rolex Miami OCR and a 64th at the European Championships in Hyeres.

Third at the last Olympic Games in Athens, Vasilij Zbogar, will be a strong competitor. He was fifth at the 2006 event in China so is clearly comfortable in prevalent conditions in Qingdao.



Laser Radial:

Top ISAF ranked, Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), is one of the main competitors to win in this class , for two principle reasons: Firstly she placed third at the Pre-Olympics in ‘06 and fifth at the recent World Championships. is. Secondly she is, of course, the only representative in the Laser Radial for the USA. This means the star of the class in the early part of this Olympic cycle, Paige Railey, who won last year’s event, will not be attending after a very disappointing season this year.

Evi Van Acker (BEL) has been one of the top performers over the last year and a half. The young Belgian has won a number of events in ’07 including the Princess Sofia Trophy and the Breitling Regatta and has just taken victory in the Laser Radial European Championship. This result will, hopefully, restore some confidence bound to have been lost after coming 13th at the World Championships.

Lijia Xu (CHN) is bound to put in a strong performance in her home country. A disappointing ninth at the recent World Championships will have knocked her confidence somewhat but she was certainly not lacking speed at the start of the week. The 19 year old Chinese sailor still lacks experience at large events and this can show in her erratic results. However she is rarely outside of the top ten and was World Champion in 2006.

Below: Xu recieving media attention last year.


Finn:

Many eyes will be on Ben Ainslie (GBR) in the Finn class as he returns to dinghy sailing from a long break due to America’s Cup commitments with Emirates Team New Zealand for the past few years. Ainslie did take time from his schedule to compete in the 2006 Olympic Test Event and dominated the fleet with straight first and second places. Ainslie and his many legions of fans will be hoping he can do the same again but there is plenty of stiff competition.

Rafael Trujillo (ESP) comes to the event fresh from victory at the ISAF World Championships in Cascais. The Spaniard was second to Ainslie at the Athens Olympics so will be looking to even the score at both this event and at the Games next year. In 2006 Trujillo scored a disappointing seventh position in the light winds at the Test Event potentially indicating he may struggle if the conditions are as predicted.

Currently ranked number one in the ISAF World Rankings, Jonas Hoegh Christensen (DEN), is bound to be a force to be reckoned with in Qingdao. Victory at the 2006 Finn Gold Cup was followed by third place at the Test Event last season. This has been followed by an entire season inside the top six, including three second places at ISAF Grade One events and fourth place at the ISAF Worlds in Cascais.

Pieter Jan Postma (NED) is having a good year so far with a third place at the Princess Sofia Trophy and a second place at both the Breitling Regatta and the ISAF Sailing World Championships.

470 Men:

Winners of the last Test Event, Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield (GBR) will head into this event determined to make up for their result at the World Championships, when a broken mast saw them take eighth position overall. However they have had an up and down year with results at Grade one events ranging from 20th to first.

Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS) are probably the favorites to win in this class. They dominated the recent World Championships, winning by a significant margin. They are also the number one ranked team in the World. Things have not gone completely their way this season, however, with a 58th at the Semaine Olympique Francaise and a 30th at the Princess Sofia Trophy.

Gideon Kliger and Udi Gal (ISR) are the epitome of consistency, having only been outside of the top ten at one event since the last Olympic Games in 2004. However, the team has yet to finish any major regattas on the podium this season with the exception of the recent World Championships where they took third.

Sven and Calle Coster (NED) are a long standing sibling partnership. This season they took silver at the World Championships in addition to a number of other top ten positions. They finished sixth at the Athens Olympics so clearly have no problem with high pressure events. Like Kliger and Gal wins are a little thin on the ground, a record this team will want to rectify at the Test Event.

470 Women:

It is impossible to write any sort of form guide for the Women’s 470 class without mentioning Marecelien De Koning and Lobke Berkhout (NED). This pairing has won the last three World Championships: a phenomenal feat. However De Koning and Berkhout did not attend the Test Event last year so their inexperience of racing in tricky venue could be their downfall.

Therese Torgersson and Vebdela Sachrisson (SWE) are certainly at home in the conditions here, having won the 2006 Test Event by a decent margin; even with an OCS in race one. A fifth at the World Championships this year shows this team is still very much on top of their game with a smattering of other good results. They were also third in the 2004 Olympic Games so will be familiar with the pressure involved in these big, media attracting events.

Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark (GBR) are consistently in the top five at International regattas. The British pair comes to this event after taking bronze at the recent World Championships. Bassadone and Clark are usually a very consistent team, so they will be looking to make up for a big wobble last year when they finished the Test Event in 15th position.

Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson (AUS) are new to the 470 for this Olympic cycle. The young Australian team have been quick to find event winning pace and are known for their light wind ability. Their relative inexperience, however, can often be seen through their lack of consistency from event to event. An 18th position at the Worlds in Cascais will have knocked their confidence so they are definitely underdogs among the potential podium placers coming to China.

49er:

Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes come into this regatta off the back of winning the World Championships in Cascais by a comfortable margin. In addition to this win at the Worlds they are current European Champions and have been on the podium in four of the five ISAF Grade One events they have attended this year. A calm and collected attitude to their sailing will help if the weather starts playing tricks.

Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (ESP) are the current 49er Gold Medallists and are one of the most experienced teams in the World in the men’s skiff class. However, the Spanish team has struggled this season having failed to make the top five in any of the major competitions they have entered.

Rodion Luka and Georgii Leonchuk (UKR) are another team with a wealth of experience. They have been sailing the 49er for ten years and took the silver medal at the Athens Olympic Games. Like Martinez and Fernandez, Luka and Leonchuk have had a slightly disappointing season with a 14th position at the Worlds in Cascais. The Ukrainian pair was third at the Test Event last year setting them in good stead for the Championship this season.

Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin (AUS) have impressed many recently with their talent out on the water. They took third at the World Championships in Cascais and are sure to come into this event with all guns blazing.


Above: Hagara waiting for the wind last year.

Tornado:

Picking a potential winner in the Tornado is particularly hard. Of all the Olympic Classes this is the one were crews tend to be the most up and down in their overall results. The boat is also particularly tricky to sail in the expected light winds.

Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) must remain the favourites in China if for no other reason than they won Gold at the last two Olympic Games in this class. They also took third position at the Olympic Test Event last season and are renowned for their light wind speed.

Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz (ESP) come into this even fresh from victory at the World Championships in Cascais. They are ranked as the World number two crew and are also well know for their light wind skills. This team also won the World Championships in 2005 and have taken victory at numerous Grade One events throughout their career in the Tornado.

Carolijn Brouwer and Sebbe Godefroid (NED) recently took second at the ISAF Sailing World Championships. This mixed pairing is bound to be a favourite with the press with Brouwer being the only female – that we are aware of – competing in a mixed class. Results other than the recent Worlds have been fairly average and realistically this pairing is very much the underdog.



Star:

Robert Scheidt (BRA) is a household name in Olympic sailing circles having dominated the Laser fleet for so many years. However, this cycle he, along with his crew Bruno Prada, has been getting to grips with the Star. They head up a number of teams jumping into the keelboat from a variety of single-handed and smaller dinghies in the last few years. Scheidt and Prada will be racing in China with a gold star on their sail following their win at the ISAF Sailing World Championships this season. The pair will be full of confidence after this win and will want to show fellow countryman and Star supremeo, Torben Grail – the Gold medallist from Athens - just how much he will have to do come Brazilian Olympic selection later this year.

Current World number one team, Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau (FRA) will be looking to victory following a strong second place at the World Championships this year. This team is extremely experienced and have previously won both the 2003 and 2005 World Championships.

Iain Percy and new crew Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson (GBR) have been steadily improving since pairing up at the start of this season. They scored a disappointing 17th at the Miami OCR, which was followed by a ninth at the Breitling regatta before finally getting onto the podium by taking third place at the Worlds in Cascais. Percy along with old crew, Steve Mitchell took second at the ‘06 Test Event, though in a much reduced fleet.

John Dane and Austin Sperry (USA) will be looking to make up for a disappointing World Championship performance this year. Dane and Sperry just managed to qualify their country for the Olympic Games by coming 11th at the Worlds but it was a close thing. Traditionally the USA is very strong in the Star so this pair will be looking to prove the reputation of both themselves and their country.

Competition in the Star class is always tough, many past World Champions in various classes litter the fleet. It is often said how hard it is to find the front of the fleet once a sailor is back in the pack. Equally any number of teams stands a chance of winning if they find themselves at the front.



Yngling:

Winners of the recent World Championships in Cascais, Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (GBR) must surely be one of the top few favourites going into the Test Event this year. Ayton and Webb won the Gold Medal at the last Olympic Games along with their old helm Shirley Robertson. Ayton, Webb and Wilson have been on the podium in every event they have competed in this year, a phenomenal record they will wish to maintain.

The impressively consistent team of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi (USA) will be right with the Brits throughout the competition. The Americans are the current World number one crew and finished second, to Ayton, Webb and Wilson at the ISAF Worlds. A fifth place at the Test Event last year will be a disappointment Barkow and her team will be hoping to avoid this year.

It will be interesting to see how the Dutch team does in China this year. A Dutch Yngling helmed by Mandy Mulder won the Test Event in 2006, however, an odd rotating team system (read about it in our article here) means it is hard to predict how well they might do.

The local team of Xiaqun Song, Xiaoni Li and Yanli Yu were third at the ‘06 Test Event. Since then the team have struggled somewhat only managing a 22nd position at the Worlds in Cascais. However, Song, Li and Yu train and live in Qingdao so are likely to be a major threat to the more established teams.

All in all the Olympic Test Event in China will start to give us a good indication of what the form might look like come the Olympic Games proper, next season. However, with many countries yet to make any firm decisions on Olympic selection we should be careful not to read too much into the results. Most in the media and many competitors treat this event as a dry run for next year and to some extent it is. However, there is still a long way to go until next summer.