From Olympics to Volvo...

John Greenland talks to two men well versed in the art of winning in small boats, but still finding their feet in the world of ocean racing

To compete in the Olympics and expect to get a top result now takes years of dedication - both in terms of physical and mental training. So why would Amer Sports One's Freddie Loof and Chris Nicholson (pictured) take time out from their Olympic campaigns to do the Volvo Ocean Race?

Those on track for a place in their country's Olympic team take care of their bodies, do regular physical exercise, and watch what they eat. Surely doing a gruelling nine-month long round the world race which can take months to recover from is the last thing you would expect some one to do two years before the next Olympics games? John Greenland caught up with the sailors to find out why...

Chris Nicholson is one of the best Australian sailors there is. He has been Australian yachtsman of the year twice, 49er World Champion three times, a member of the Olympic sailing squad, and a finalist in the Sperry World Sailor of the Year. Freddie Loof graduated to the Finn in 1988 after moving through the Optimist and OK ranks. He has sailed three Olympic Games and 12 World Championships. He finally won an Olympic medal in Sydney, albeit a bronze after being match-raced out of contention for gold by Iain Percy. However, recently he has focused on keelboats, in particular the Star in which he has won the Europeans and Worlds in his very first year of trying.

"It’s a case of answering all the questions in my head, do I want to do the America’s Cup, do the Volvo Ocean Race, carry on sailing?" says Loof. Nicholson agrees with this, but he also sees the Volvo Ocean Race as a good 'break' from the usual campaign track. "What better way to get a break than an extreme of the sport so far removed from Olympics but using the same disciplines gained during our own campaigns?" adds Nicholson.

It seems the two Olympians managed to time their move into ocean racing perfectly. Neither of the two sailors went through the long process of training, sail development, and planning like the team members of some of the longer established teams, such as John Kostecki's illbruck Challenge.

Both sailors sent out preliminary emails to various syndicates in the build up to the event, however neither really heard anything. "I had approached some of the syndicates, I did some sailing with ASSA ABLOY before the start, but nothing really came of it so I went back to the Star," says Loof. Nicholson comments: "I sent out emails to Grant to take part in the trials, but I didn’t hear for a long time, so just didn’t think I had made the cut for it. A few months later I joined the team in France."

Though Loof did approach Victory Challenge, the Swedish entry in the America's Cup, he decided the timing of the whole thing did not suit his short term goals. "If I was to sail with them [Victory Challenge] then there would be no chance of sailing the Star, which is something I really want to do at the moment," says Loof. Fortunately the Volvo Ocean Race fits his schedule and and provides for a more flexible contract. "I have quite a good setup here, I only need to be in port five days before the restart and so I can sail the Star during most of the stopovers. That’s written into my contract so it’s perfect."