Behind the scenes with Alican Kaynar (TUR)

Turkish Finn sailor, Alican Kaynar is competing at the 2018 World Cup Series Final, in Marseille, France and the 29 year old is aiming to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Kaynar was born in Istanbul, where he currently resides, but the Finn sailor says he spends almost 200 days a year competing internationally. This is a big sacrifice for the father and family man, all in the aim of making Tokyo 2020 for his third Olympic appearance. 

Kaynar took part in the London 2012 and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games so competing at the pinnacle event for thousands of athletes is nothing new to the 6.3 ft sailor. 

The Finn sailor won gold in the Round 2 of the 2017 World Cup Series in Hyères, France and in 2018, Kaynar has been a podium regular, capturing bronze medals in Round 2 in Miami, USA and Round 3 in Hyères, France. 

“Marseille is my last event before the World Championships, so I am hoping for a podium spot at least,” said Kaynar. 

The Finn is a heavy boat to sail and requires a lot of raw strength to master the heavyweight dinghy. Finn sailors need to continuously develop their power output by dieting right and developing their muscles to handle a lot of power. 

When Kaynar is not competing, this is what his average day is like, “When I am not at a competition, I wake up between 7-8am, then shower and get ready for the day. 

“I would then begin preparing my breakfast, which consists of three eggs – sometimes boiled, scrambled or fried. I like to mix it up. I then make a big bowl of oats with peanut butter. The amount varies depending on the workload I am doing on that day.” 

Kaynar consumes 5,000 calories a day and during competitions, he increases the intake to 7,000 calories. 

“During the day I will snack on dates, nuts, energy/protein bars and energy drinks. 

“After I have had my breakfast, I would then do 1-2 hours of training. This can be a gym session or an outdoor cardio session. Again, I adjust depending on what I need to work on the most.” 

Being a father is part of Kaynar’s daily schedule, “I would then spend time with my wife and daughter and have lunch with them. 

“My lunch consists of mainly light foods, 60% carbohydrate like rice or pasta, then 20% protein and 20% vegetables.

“At about 2pm, I would then go for my second session. This can either be a gym session or on water training, depending on what I need to work on.” 

Kaynar begins his gym sessions with a long warmup and stretching, which usually lasts 30 minutes.

“Depending on the season, I would either go heavy on weightlifting or cardio. As the Worlds is coming up, I am doing one week of heavy weights and one week of heavy cardio, to get a good balance.

“My gym sessions include squats, bench presses and some Olympic weightlifting exercises. I generally squat around 120kg and bench press around 70-80kg. I mix my weight loads depending on the time of the season.

“I need to keep my body weight around 100kg, so I balance the exercises to maintain that level.” 

Kaynar concluded, “I aim to finish my second session at 5pm, then I would go home and rest, as well as enjoy time with my family. I usually go to sleep at 9pm so I am refreshed for the next day.”

So that’s an average day in the life of the Olympic Finn sailor, Alican Kaynar (TUR). 

Kaynar currently holds second place in the 2018 World Cup Series Final in Marseille and he is confident that he will end the Final with a podium position. If Kaynar manages that then it will be his third medal in the 2018 Series.

Everything boils down to the Medal Race, which will be streamed live the World Sailing Network. The Finns are scheduled to race at 12:45 local time on Sunday 10th June. 

Click here to watch the LIVE Finn Medal Race.

By Aadil Seedat – World Sailing
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