Strong Dutch Quartet Aiming For Paralympic Medals

Dutch sailors will be represented in the one-person keelboat and three-person keelboat at the London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition.

In the one-person keelboat, 2.4mR, Thierry Schmitter, Andre Rademaker and Barend Kol competed for a ticket to London. The national selection was determined by the best total result of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyères (FRA) and Sail for Gold in Weymouth (GBR). After the Sailing World Cup in Hyères, Schmitter was leading the battle amongst the three rivals.

In Weymouth it did not take long before Schmitter was leading the ranking. On the last day of the Paralympic event, bad weather conditions made it impossible for all sailors to set their sails, and Schmitter received the first prize. Rademaker finished eighth and Kol 10th. With these results, Schmitter also won the national selection and a ticket to the Paralympics. 

In January 2012, Udo Hessels, Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen had already secured their participation in the Paralympics 2012. That month, the trio continued to show form and were the first sailing team to be acknowledged by the NOC*NSF as having qualified for the Games. It’s the second time this experienced will compete in the Paralympics. In Athens 2004, they won silver in the Sonar class.