The who's who of Olympic windsurfing
In two days time (July 6th), the Olympic Class RS:X World Championships will start in Cascais, Portugal. This is an extremely important event on the Olympis Calendar as it acts for many countries as a selection trials for their Olympic representative.
Arguable this is a harder event to win than the Olympics. There are over 200 competitors all of whom are peaking to gain their national place at the rapidly approaching Olympic Games in Beijing. The fleets are bigger, there are more races and less rest days and since this is part of the Olympics selection process, the gloves will come off within each national team.
Racing starts on the 6th July, with two races each day, a rest day on the 9th and the finals on the 12th July. It is set to be a fast moving and exciting week.
One of the best things about Olympic Racing is that being on form counts for a lot, as does the conditions prevailing at the specific venue during the exact week of the championships. There is no clear favourite for this World Championships, but here are the definite contenders:
The Men
Przemek Miarczynski (POL-126)
Height/Weight: 6ft2 75kg
Age: 30
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 1
Career Highlights: 2003 World Champion, 2007 European Champion
Originally on the Mistral longboard, Pont was regarded as unbeatable in strong winds. He has managed to broaden his skills and has now shown his ability by winning the European Championships in Cyprus last month in lighter breezes. He has many years of experience and many titles under his belt and has also been a very strong contender in PWA Formula events. There was a time in Mistral racing when he was winning races so easily, his coach made him do 720 degree penalty turns (2 tacks, 2 gybes) at the first mark to increase the challenge for him!!
|
PHOTO: Ntina Halla |
|
Nick Dempsey (GBR-21)
Height/ Weight: 6ft 72kg
Age: 26
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 3
Career Highlights: 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, 2006 European Champion
A strong favourite for this event. Last year Nick was the man to beat, winning the European championships and almost all of the European cup events. This year has seen the rest of the world play catch up. The past week has provided shifty and gusty conditions – something that Nick will make the most of. Nick knows how to win, and certainly has the ability to do so. |
 |
|
Tom Ashley (NZL-181)
Height/ Weight: 6ft3 74kg
Age: 23
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 7
Career Highlights: 2006 World Championship silver medallist
Renowned as the fastest RSX windsurfer in the world. Before events he terrorises his opposition with his tuning speed. He is the quickest upwind and has dramatically improved his downwind performance over the past two years. His silver medal at the 2006 Worlds has shown that he can convert speed into race wins, and his continued training partnership with top Brazilian Santos has made him extremely dangerous. Tom ASHLEY (NZL)
|
PHOTO Gilles MARTIN-RAGET |
|
Ricardo Santos (BRA1)
Height/ Weight: 6ft1 70kg
Age: 27
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 10
Career Highlights: 2005, 2002 Mistral World Championship silver medallist
A very smart competitor and always in the top 5 of every event he seems to enter. He sails fast in all conditions and plays the percentages well to ensure a series of consistent results. This will be a useful skill in this world championships series, as only one race discard is allowed. In the past Santos has buckled under pressure, this is an opportunity for him to stamp down some authority on the fleet. |
 |
|
Casper Bouman (NED52)
Height/ Weight: 6ft3 77kg
Age: 21
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 13
Career Highlights: 2006 World Champion
Casper is the reigning RSX World Champion. He has not been particularly dominant this season, but has an edge of speed on him that makes him a force to be reckoned with in planning conditions. He seems to have the perfect build for this class and could well take home Gold again, given an opportunity. |
 |
|
The Old Boys
Nikolas Kaklamanakis (GRE1)
Height/ Weight: 5ft10 72kg
Age: 36
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 46
Career Highlights: 1996 Olympic Champion, 2004 Olympic silver medallist
Possibly Greece’s equivalent of David Beckham, he has won Gold and Silver at the Olympics and stars regularly in television adverts in Greece . He is ultra-competitive on and off the water and probably the most likely to be involved in a protest. He certainly knows how to win in windsurfing, but has he left it too late to fully get to grips with the new class? |
 |
|
Joao Rodrigues (POR75)
Height/ Weight: 5ft10 70kg
Age: 35
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 4
Career Highlights: 1995 Mistral World Champion
Joao has been Portugal’s representative at the last four Olympic Games. He lives on the island of Madeira, but Cascais has been a regular training ground for him, giving him some home advantage. He is excellent in shifty marginal conditions but is most at home in big swells which Cascais may well provide. |
 |
|
Gal Friedman (ISR18)
Height/ Weight: 6ft2 71kg
Age: 31
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 31
Career Highlights: 2004 Olympic Champion
Gal Friedman can be found on Wikipedia due to his legendary status in Israel. He is the only Israeli athlete to win two Olympic medals, and the first gold medallist in Israeli history. He has not quite got to grips with the new RSX class but could use his vast experience to challenge the fleet. He has a reputation for raising his game to another level for big events. |
 |
|
Top 4 Women
Marina Alabau (ESP5)
Age: 21
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 1
Career Highlights: 2006 World Championship silver medallist, 2007 European Champion
A great sailor who has been held back by being too nice. She is very fast and knows how to sail well. She is the new member of the women’s elite after winning the European championships with style last month in Cyprus . A lot of ability, but this needs to be combined with big event racing experience and psychological strength to produce true dividends. |
 |
|
Barbara Kendall (NZL15)
Age: 39
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 36
Career Highlights: 1992 Olympic Champion, 1996 Olympic silver medallist, 2000 Olympic bronze medallist, 2002, 1999, 1998 Mistral World Champion
Aged 39, mother of two, a true legend of Olympic Windsurfing, Barbara has won three world championships, an Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medal. Since jumping on the RSX, she has been in medal contention. A recent fourth place at the RSX Europeans has shown her current form and race winning capability when the breeze is up. |
 |
|
Alessandra Sensini (ITA25)
Age: 37
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 40
Career Highlights: 2000 Olympic Champion, 2004, 1996 Olympic bronze medallist, 2006 World Champion, 2004, 2000 Mistral World Champion
An old favourite, she has won an Olympic Gold medal and two silver medals. At the age of 37, some would have expected her return to competitive windsurfing to have been a pipe-dream. However she returned to win the World Championships in 2006 on Lake Garda. She is very strong mentally and knows how to win championships. |
 |
|
Bryony Shaw (GBR94)
Age: 24
ISAF World Sailing Ranking: 2
Career Highlights: 2006 European Championship silver medallist
Bryony is sailing fast, and is very fit. Having missed out on the European title due to ill health, Bryony is fired up to win. Probably the most powerful at pumping the 8.5m sail, and with a wealth of big event experience she can certainly perform here. |
 |
|
|
