Ian Walker's Olympic Diary - 12th October

Britain's Olympic Star Silver medallist wraps up his Diary for madforsailing

In my first madforsailing diary, back on September 1st, I started by saying how memorable it was to walk out in the 1996 Olympic stadium in Atlanta. Well, now I have a new memory to surpass all others. Who would have dreamt that Mark and I would not only be presented with an Olympic Silver medal on the steps of the Opera House - but that it would be preceded by our national anthem three times in a row, for the Laser, Europe and Finn classes.

The British Olympic Sailing Team scooped three Gold medals and two Silvers in our most successful Olympics ever. It wasn’t that any of the medals were a great surprise - we knew we had the potential - but it was the fact that so many went so well, in such tricky conditions.
So why were we so successful as a team?

There has been a lot of talk about the Lottery funding, but many countries are well funded and did not succeed. Two sailing superpowers - Spain and France - came away without a single podium finish. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that having sailors able to compete full-time, without financial worry, was a major factor.

But much credit must also go to the RYA and the OSG (Olympic Steering Group) for their management of resources and their ability to work out what was the best approach for each individual class and each individual sailor. Their once-criticised selection procedures are now being applauded.

I would also like to give credit to all the coaching staff, tune-up partners and support people, who all contributed to their own particular classes but also to the excellent team morale. Everybody genuinely wanted everybody else to do well, and everyone can feel proud that the team did so well.

There’s a more sailing specific note to our success. I think that Sydney suited the British sailors. It was shifty, gusty, tidal and dominated by weather systems - much like it is here in Britain. Rarely was a result determined by a one-sided drag race into the corner, as happens so often in other parts of the world. It was not an easy place for favourites, but it was perfect for a well organised, disciplined, professional team that had the ability not to crack under pressure.

While it was fantastic that so many did succeed, there were others that came desperately close but missed a medal. And those are always the people you cannot help but feel sorry for - Nick Rogers and Jo Glanfield sailed a brilliant series in the 470 to miss Bronze by one point. Whilst obviously distraught, they can take great heart from how they sailed. As for Andy Beadsworth and his Soling crew, they have to live with knowing they are as good as anybody in the world (they’ve proved this over and over), but they just had a bad day when they least needed it.

For Mark and I, Sydney was a rollercoaster ride. Anybody following my diaries in madforsailing before the start of the regatta, would know that our spirits were at an all-time low ebb. We had not been fast in training. The gale force winds had not helped us test our gear. We lost ten days when Mark burnt his shoulder. And we had finished last in the three training races we managed to do before the start. The harder we tried, the worse that things seemed to get.

Ironically, this was what helped get us in the right frame of mind. We massively lowered our expectations, turned away from looking for a medal, but at the same time did not become defeatist. This was crucial to us not getting nervous during the event and being able to sail with a clear mind. I stopped considering that we might win a medal. In fact, I could hardly bring myself to look at Simon Hiscocks’ 49er medal after he was awarded it, on just our second day of racing. I was delighted for him, but did not even want to think about our outcome.

In truth, we set ourselves three goals for these Games:

1 To enjoy the Olympic experience.
2 To work as a team and stay good friends, whatever the outcome on the water.
3 To never give up.

In the ten days before we started racing, we didn’t sail with any other boats so as not to damage our confidence. We concentrated on getting the boat perfect, and we worked on boat handling and starting drills.

The rest - as they say - is history. We missed Gold by one point after an excellent last race, but I have no regrets. I am very proud of how Mark and I sailed. And of how many people enjoyed following us and the British Team. The number of e-mails and cards we have received is unbelievable. The hard bit now, is for the team to try and do even half as well again in Athens!