Cigar for Rogers

New addition to Olympic 470 medallist's fan club

Double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers will have a brand new supporter to impress when he and crew Pom Green bid to make their mark at the 2009 470 European Championships in Austria this week - his new son Dirk.

Rogers and Dutch wife Fanny, who married shortly after Lymington’s Rogers returned from the Beijing Games last summer, became parents for the first time a little over two weeks ago when baby Dirk arrived in the world.

But the Skandia Team GBR star will not have to worry about missing his son as he and Green prepare for their second competitive outing of the season on Lake Traunsee, as both wife and son are also in Austria to see Dad in action.

Having announced they would be campaigning for 2012 together on the eve of the Palma ISAF Sailing World Cup event in April, Rogers and Green missed out on a spot in the medal race finishing 14th overall on their World Cup debut.

Now with the Europeans getting underway in earnest tomorrow (Monday 8 June), the pair have the chance to achieve their aim of a top 10 result.

Rogers said: “Since Palma pretty much everything on the boat has changed apart from the mainsail. We’ve enjoyed some good training and we would have liked to have had a bit more racing but it has been a slightly busy time for me recently!

“Becoming a dad has been an unbelievable experience and it is fantastic having the family out here with me; it gives me that added bit of motivation to try to eke out that extra bit of something to really perform in much the same way as I deal with pressure. When I am under pressure to perform I have tended to perform better and I feel this is similar.”

He added: “The sailing here could end up anyone’s guess - we’ve got mountains of 1,600m all around us and with 90 degree wind shifts it could be near impossible to stay consistent for the whole regatta.

“However, I still think that the top people will end up in the top three and with flat waters and expected light winds this is a great opportunity for Pom and I. We want to get a good result and for us, at this stage, would be a top 10 finish.”

Meanwhile the Europeans mark Penny and Saskia Clark’s Championship debut as a pairing while reigning 470 Junior World Champions Hannah Mills and Katrina Hughes will also be in action for Skandia Team GBR.

The 2009 470 European Championship qualifying series is scheduled to get underway at 12pm tomorrow with the final series due to take place from Thursday 11 and the top 10 boats contesting a final medal race next Sunday 14.