With only a few days to go to the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth, it seems high time we get to know our Olympic sailors don’t you think? We’ll start off with some great interviews of the North American representatives in the 49er class…the casual cool yet freakishly powerful boat in the games… Then we’ll work our way around the boat park to different fleets and different countries looking at athletes who are both new to the games and some of the favourites as well.
It often seems like in every country, one only knows about certain fleets. In Canada I often hear “Oh the Laser, the laser fleet is the deepest and the grand daddy of them all…it’s all about the laser.” Cross the pond and you hear “470. It is the hardest boat to sail in the deepest fleet. 470 is the hardest.” Or travel a little further abroad and you hear “Star. Star is the most difficult with the most experienced sailors.” “49er. Seriously, you have to be talented to even get that boat out of the dock!” Whatever the case may be, at the Olympic level, they’re all deep fleets in perfectly set up and tuned boats. These sailors have worked for an average of a decade to qualify for their country and are fitter than most of us ever dream of being. No matter what country, no matter what fleet, and no matter what the medal contentions, let’s cheer on all of our sailors at these games!
thesaltysister 