Radial racers Rio ready

There was an all Laser Radial line up facing the media at the third day’s morning press conference at Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland.

Current world champion Alison Young (GBR), London 2012 Silver medallist Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and the final competitor to book their Rio 2016 place, Sara Carmo (POR), all faced the media as talk once again turned to the upcoming summer Games.
 
Quizzed on her last minute, successful, qualification attempt Carmo said, “I was in London 2012 sailing the Laser Radial and then I moved to 470. I sailed in 470 for three years and last December I moved again to the Laser Radial.
 
“It was tough for me, I had just three months to prepare for qualification and luckily I got the spot and I was obviously very happy. Now I am just trying to improve heading in to Rio, but I don’t have a lot of time.”
 
Despite the last minute switch, Carmo knew that the pressure was off and if qualification was going to come, it was going to come through taking the stress out of the situation, “Of course I wanted the spot but I wasn’t under pressure. I was sailing for fun and I was enjoying it a lot because I was grateful to be back in the Laser.”
 
From Carmo being the last Radial Rio 2016 qualifier to Bouwmeester being the first, having won gold at the Santander 2014 Sailing World Championships, the first qualification event.
 
When asked about the differences between Weymouth and Portland, the home of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition and the current Sailing World Cup, and the next Olympic venue in Rio, Bouwmeester said, “The difference between Weymouth and Rio is pretty big. In Weymouth it was all about being a very quick sailor. I think for me personally, Rio, it’s the first time that the Olympic Games has been in the middle of a world city and you have to be very clever and place very well. I have spent a lot of time there and that will hopefully give me a bit of an advantage leading in to the Olympics.”
 
Making another venue comparison was Young who talked through her recent World Championship triumph in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and the Olympic venue, “Conditions in Mexico were quite different to what we can expect in Rio. In Mexico it was similar conditions day in day out, but in Rio you can expect a variety. The similarities were that you had a lot of good sailors and it was a very competitive fleet which we will obviously have out in Rio.”
 
But how would that world win affect her Rio chances? Young explained, “Winning the worlds was a good boost to know I can put the processes in place during a regatta and perform throughout the week and I’m hoping to improve on that leading in to the Games.”
 
With a lot of the top Laser Radial sailors at the Sailing World Cup in Weymouth and Portland and it being the last big event before the Games, it could be seen as a chance to look at how others are doing around them and possibly take attention away from their own sailing, but this was dismissed by Carmo and Bouwmeester who both know that the focus is firmly on themselves.
 
Carmo said, “I know that some sailors are better in some conditions, but I have heard in Rio anything can happen and I am concerned a bit in some situations, but not that much overall.”
 
Backing her fellow Radial sailor up, Bouwmeester said, “It’s all about focusing on yourself and doing the best that you can and as Sara said, it will be so challenging on different race courses and with different conditions it is just about placing the best that you can.”
 
At this stage in the Olympic cycle it is clear from the Laser Radial sailors that there are two things to focus on, themselves and Rio. The Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland is the final chance to focus on racing and fine strategies before the next big thing, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

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
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