June 9, 2016
6 minutes reading time
Win or lose, take the positives and move on
Day two of the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland has brought up mixed feelings for the three sailors facing the media at this morning's press conference.
Day two of the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland has brought up mixed feelings for the three sailors facing the media at this morning’s press conference.
Despite the mixed feelings, France’s 470 helm Camille Lecointre, Canada’s Nacra 17 sailor Nikola Girke and current Laser world champion, Great Britain’s Nick Thompson could all agree on one thing, no matter what happens in Weymouth and Portland the end goal is Rio 2016.
The first to voice her emotions and recollections of the London 2012 Olympic sailing venue was Lecointre. Talking about her near miss at London 2012 where she sailed with Mathilde Geron, Lecointre said, “It’s good to be back here. I just missed out on a medal here finishing fourth, but that gave me a lot of motivation for this campaign and now we are just two months out from the next Olympics.
“The Sailing World Cup is the last big race before Rio and it is important to check the last minute details.
Sailing in his home waters Thomson added, “It’s pretty exciting really. It’s the last shoot out before the Olympics. We are missing a few key competitors in the Laser fleet but we still have a very, very tough fleet which is often the case.
“For me personally, to be competing on home waters is always exciting. It’s a venue I love. If I’m honest, all the focus is on Rio. I would love to do well here and win here, but everyone is gearing up towards Rio and the focus is certainly on that.”
When asked about the pressure of being current world champion heading in to the Games, a laid back Thompson said, “Actually the pressure we put on ourselves every day is bigger than anything you get from anyone else so really we are quite used to dealing with that feeling.
“For me I have never been to an Olympic Games and had that experience but in all honesty I am more excited about the prospect of competing in Rio rather than being nervous about it. It’s an Olympics, it every four years so the opportunity doesn’t come around very often so it’s something I’m looking to relish and enjoy.”
Heading in to her fourth Olympic Games in a third sailing discipline, the first question for Girke was obvious, what is the secret for the change and moving from a two-person dinghy, to a windsurfer and then into a multihull? A very modest Girke said, “I don’t know if it is about talent, more like hard work and determination.”
With all the experience Girke has gained throughout her Olympic campaigns and appearances, she knows that no matter what happens in Weymouth and Portland, it can’t derail her end goal, “If things go wrong it’s just all part of the game. You learn from it and it shouldn’t shatter your confidence, it’s just another stepping stone to learn something.
“It’s all towards Rio and it is a different venue here. Yes, it’s against most of the top competitors and you want to see how you rack up against them, but you learn from your mistakes and that’s the whole campaign. You learn from your mistakes all the way along to win at the end.”
When asked how she can upgrade her fourth from the last Olympic Games to a medal in Rio and how the Sailing World Cup can help, Lecointre said, “I think I still improve every day I am sailing. I have had some changes this campaign and I sail with a new crew, Helene Defranc. It’s just about learning every day and we got more confidence from winning the worlds in 2016 [in Argentina]. It’s about trying to improve and keep your targets, but it is still about focussing on Rio.”
Closing out the conference, Thompson spoke of his chances in Rio and why sailing in a venue different to the conditions likely to be seen during the Games. Thompson concluded, “The topography affects the race course in Rio a lot more than other places. Rio is a very different venue, but for my last few worlds they were all very different from each other. The first I won [in 2015] was on a lake. That’s slightly different, slightly shiftier. Then my last worlds [2016] a few weeks ago in Mexico was quite steady conditions and similar every day. So quite challenging conditions. But I have spent a lot of time in Rio and I like to think I have a lot of that covered.”
All sailors will be looking to do their best and will always go for the win at every regatta, but for the three at the conference, they know that if things don’t work out the way they want it to this time it’s not the be-all and end-all. Just learn what you can before giving it everything you can at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this August.
RESULTS / ENTRIES
Entries for Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland are available to view here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/sailorinfo/weymouthandportland16_entries.php and results will be available throughout when racing commences on 8 June here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php
LIVE TRACKING
The racing will be available to watch in 2D and 3D via the live tracking. Live tracking will be available when racing commences via – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php
Live Tracking via the Sailviewer-3D Tablet App will be available for devices with 7″ or greater screens.
Click here to download the iOS Application – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sailviewer-3d/id912801278
Click here to download the Android Application – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stsportservice.sailviewer
LIVE BLOG
Respected sailing journalist James Boyd will be running the Live Blog throughout the racing days in Weymouth and Portland. Follow, interact and engage with the blog here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/live-blog.php
COMPETITION STATUS
The Competition Status Screen feeds in straight from the Race Committee boats with the teams inputting data such as race times, course type, the status of each race and the plan moving forward. The competition status screen will be available when racing commences via – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php
VIDEO
The World Sailing TV YouTube Channel will be showing Sunday 12 June’s Medal Races live.
URL – https://youtu.be/DljxrjNTyLo
Embed Code –
PRESS RELEASES
World Sailing will be releasing international press releases after racing throughout the duration of Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland. All the latest news and reports will be available to read here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/index.php
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the event on World Sailing’s social networks:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ISAFWorldSailing
Instagram – https://instagram.com/isafworldsailing/
Twitter – @worldsailing
Snapchat – Follow our Story on Snapchat, search for worldsailing