Team GBR update - 3

Peter Bentley surveys Britain's chances in the double handers for the coming season and 2004

Continued from part one and two on madforsailing...

470 Men



Nick Rogers and Jo Glanfield (above) must rank as the favourites here. After a very tight trials for Sydney, they went on to finish a very close fourth at their first Olympic regatta. A second place at the Worlds in 2001 marked a further step in the right direction. Winning Hyeres the same year not only confirmed that they have both the necessary talent and skill, but also the determination to win big regattas.

Totally committed to the 470 for 2004, Rogers and Glanfield have not allowed themselves a year off or any other distractions on the path to Olympic glory. With Rogers once regarded as something of a wild child - he hung the Union Flag out of the hotel window at the Optimist Worlds In Argentina just after the Falklands War - increasing age and maturity will be a big bonus for this year and beyond.

Graham Vials and Dan Newman form a relatively new pairing but have already elevated themselves to B-card status in the WCP squad. Young and hungry, they don't plan to wait long before starting to snap at the heels of the established top dogs. Vials, then sailing with Magnus Leask was third in the trials for Sydney and knows a thing or two about 470 sailing.

In terms of international competition, there seems to have been something of a shake out in the class. To be sure the Greek duo of Andreas Kosmatopoulos and Kostas Trigonis still lead the rankings and they won't exactly be easy to beat. The Australians excelled in this class on their home waters last time around and it seems they have the coaching and support structure to elevate their sailors when it really counts.

In terms of the British squad, the Men and women are training together under the watchful eye of Adam Bowers. As with most of the World Class performance sailors they have been hard at work over the winter with training camps in Palm Malorca before setting off on the main part of the European season with The Princess Sophia Trophy and then Hyeres.


Graham Vials and Dan Newman