OLYMPIC GAMES

First they were postponed until 2021, and then the build-up this year has been marred by rumours and discussions about whether they would – or should – go ahead, but this month, against public opinion in Japan, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be taking place, and we cannot wait!

Incredibly, last year was the first postponement of the Games since the start of the modern Olympics in 1896. They have, however, been cancelled on three occasions – in

World War I and World War II – but through the years there have also been boycotts, national team bans and even terrorist attacks.

The debate about whether the Games should take place this year in the midst of a global pandemic will rumble on, but what is clear is, not surprisingly, money is a key factor behind the decision to proceed.

The broadcasting rights income is worth billions to the International Olympic

Committee, while the cost of putting on the Olympics is officially around $15.4B, but in reality is probably far higher, and much of that is Japanese taxpayer money.

Postponing for a year was one thing, but cancelling was quite another.

RIGHT: The Tokyo (almost complete) line-up L-R: Mark England (Team GB Chef de Mission), Emma Wilson, Chris Grube, Stuart Bithell, Hannah Mills, Alison Young, Luke Patience, Eilidh McIntyre, Charlotte Dobson, Giles Scott, Dylan Fletcher, Tom Squires, Saskia Tidey, Mark Robinson (Sailing Team Leader, RYA Performance Manager). Image: Nick Dempsey/RYA

Giles Scott - GOLD AT RIO! Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy) Current ranking: 8 Giles Scott is a four-time Finn Gold Cup winner as well as Gold medallist at the Rio Games (with a day to spare), having missed out on London 2012 selection to Ben Ainslie. He is considered one of world’s best tacticians, and outside of the Olympic circuit he is a member of Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team. Giles actually enjoys kitesurfing too.

D.O.B: 23 June 1987 Home town: Portsmouth Boat first sailed: Optimist Started sailing aged: 6 Started racing aged: 11

Image: Joao Costa Ferreira

GOLD AT RIO!* SILVER AT LONDON!* Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy) Current ranking: 1 Hannah Mills was already one of the most decorated British Olympic sailors of all time when she paired with Eilidh McIntyre in January 2017. With her long-term sailing partner Saskia Clark, Mills has established herself as one of the most dominant crews in the world, with a silver medal from London 2012 and a gold at Rio 2016 to show for it. Gold for Hannah Mills in Japan would make her the world’s most successful female Olympic sailor.

Hannah Mills D.O.B: 29 February 1988 Home city: Poole Boat first sailed: Mirror Started sailing aged: 8 Started racing aged: 8

Eilidh McIntyre D.O.B: 4 June 1994 Home town: Hayling Island Boat first sailed: Catamaran

*Hannah Mills with Saskia Clark Image: Jesus Renedo/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

SILVER AT LONDON!* Luke Patience and Chris Grube 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy) Current ranking: 10

Luke Patience and Chris Grube’s sailing relationship goes back a long way, although they parted ways in 2009 and found new sailing partners. However, just months before the Rio Games, Luke Patience was in need of a partner when Elliot Willis was diagnosed with cancer. And so the partnership between Luke and Chris re-started, and they went on to finish fifth in Rio. Luke Patience D.O.B: 4 August 1986 Home town: Rhu, Scotland Boat first sailed: Optimist Started sailing aged: 7 Started racing aged: 9

Chris Grube D.O.B: 22 January 1985 Home town: Hamble Boat first sailed: GP14 Bala Sailing Club Started sailing aged: 10 Started racing aged: 10

*Luke Patience with Stuart Bithell Image: Rick Tomlinson

Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey 49erFX (Women’s Skiff) Current ranking: 5

Saskia only took up sailing when she was 15, but has shown that if you have the talent anything is possible. Eight years later she was representing Ireland at the Rio Games, but joined the British Sailing Team in 2017, eligible to compete under the Union flag through her father Don, and teamed up with Charlotte for a go at Tokyo 2020.

Charlotte Dobson D.O.B: 5 May 1986 Home town: Rhu, Scotland Boat first sailed: Optimist Started sailing aged: 3 Started racing aged: 10 Saskia Tidey D.O.B: 11 June 1993 Home town: Dublin Started racing aged: 15

Image: Sascha Klahn

Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell 49er (Men’s Skiff) Current ranking: 20

Up until late 2016, Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell were rivals on the water, but decided to team up with their sights set on Tokyo 2020. Their campaign started with a bang with wins in the 49er European and World Championships. We caught up with Stuart before he headed out to Tokyo, and you read all about their build-up to the Games on the next page.

Dylan Fletcher D.O.B: 3 April 1988 Home town: Portland Boat first sailed: Pico Started sailing aged: 12 Started racing aged: 14

Stuart Bithell D.O.B: 28 August 1986 Home town: Portland Boat first sailed: Firefly Started sailing aged: 7 Started racing aged: 12 Alison Young Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy) Current ranking: 21

Aged 13 Alison joined the national Optimist squad before moving into the Topper class and then the Laser Radial when she was 15. She was one of the final sailors picked for London 2012, finishing fifth on home waters. In the run-up to Rio, Alison made history by becoming the first British woman ever to win Gold at an Olympic class world championships, going on to finish eighth at her second Games.

D.O.B: 29 May 1987 Home town: Portland Boat first sailed: Optimist

Image: British Sailing Team

Emma Wilson RS:X Women (Women’s Windsurfer) Current ranking: 3

Emma’s first taste of a world title was at the age of 12 when she took the U15 Techno 293 World Championship. Moving to the Olympic class windsurfer, her success continued with the RS:X Youth Worlds title in 2014. With Emma’s determination to win, coupled with

training alongside the British Sailing Team’s Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Bryony Shaw and her mum’s (Penny Way) experience from the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, all things point to a successful future.

D.O.B: 7 April 1999 Home town: Christchurch

Image: Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Tom Squires RS:X Men (Men’s Windsurfer) Current ranking: 9

In 2016 Tom Squires was Nick Dempsey’s training partner for the Rio Olympics. Since then Tom has dedicated all his time to training, competing and developing his own successful Olympic campaign. Tom was fifth at the Europeans this year and won the medal race in his last regatta before Tokyo, and so will no doubt be in contention for a medal at the Games.

D.O.B: 3 August 1993 Home town: Kingston Bagpuize Boat first sailed: retro windsurfing gear Started sailing aged: 11 Started racing aged: 15

Image: Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing John Gimson and Anna Burnet Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull) Current ranking: 3

John Gimson took his keelboat sailing experience into the Star class and was taken under the wing of Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson as their tuning partner for the London 2012 Olympic cycle. Unfortunately, the Star was dropped as an Olympic class, but this made way for the transition to the mixed multihull Nacra 17 class. Anna Burnet started out in an Optimist and was selected for the British Optimist World Championship team in 2006. At youth level she won the female National title in the 420 before progressing to the Olympic 470 class. Anna and John teamed up at the end of 2016 and have since proven themselves with a host of world-class performances.

John Gimson D.O.B: 11 March 1983 Home town: Congleton Boat first sailed: National 12 Started sailing aged: 7 Started racing aged: 10

Anna Burnet D.O.B: 27 September 1992 Home town: Shandon Boat first sailed: Optimist

Image: Lloyd Images/RYA Elliot Hanson Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy) Current ranking: 4

A family holiday in Anglesey was the catalyst for Elliot Hanson to pursue a career in sailing. Elliot has seen success on the world stage taking the 2008 Topper World Championship title and stepped on the podium at international events such as the Delta Lloyd regatta and Princess Sofia Trophy in the Laser. Hanson was also part of the British team to claim the Youth America’s Cup in 2017. After overcoming injury, Elliot has notched up plenty of podium finishes including gold at the 2018 World Cup Series Enoshima on the same waters as Tokyo 2020.

D.O.B: 12 February 1994 Home town: Macclesfield

Image: Pedro Martinez / Sailing

Image: lazyllama / Shutterstock.com

However, as Japan’s Dr Hiroshi Oshitani, a virologist and government adviser, told the Times: “The government and the IOC … keep saying they are holding a safe Olympics. But everybody knows there is a risk. It is 100 per cent impossible to have an Olympics with zero risk.”

The Japanese people know this, and have shown their displeasure in huge numbers: thousands of volunteers have quit, towns have been cancelling plans to host athletes and one survey found more than 80 per cent of Japanese people oppose hosting the Olympics this year.

These reports follow what has been a relatively slow vaccine rollout and, although the virus has been less severe than many countries, Japan has seen a fourth wave of infections this spring putting added pressure on the country’s healthcare system.

Overseas spectators are banned from the Games, but last month it was announced that up to 10,000 Japanese fans will be permitted at Olympic venues, despite warnings from health bosses. Fans will not be allowed to shout or speak loudly, and must wear face masks at all times while in venues.

Sailing on Despite numerous sports coming and going from the Olympic line-up – including horse long jump, pistol duelling and tug of war, sailing has stood the test of time, with more than a few changes along the way.

When sailing was first contested at the 1900 Paris Games, the sport was dominated by bigger boats, sometimes with as many as 12 sailors, and time handicaps were used to adjudicate the races. Then, from 1924 and more so from the 1950s, there has been a steady move towards smaller and smaller one design boats with fewer crew members. These days there are 10 medal events contested in the Olympic sailing regatta.

At the last Games, Rio 2016, Britain topped the sailing table again with three medals – two golds and one silver. Giles Scott continued the British domination of the Finn class taking gold at his first Olympic Games, while Hannah Mills and Q AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START SAILING, AND WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED IT AS A CAREER? SB: I started sailing at the age of seven at my local club, Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club. It was my mum and dad who introduced me to the sport, but at the time it was just a hobby. It was more just swimming around the harbour than sailing. Either way, I loved it. It was not until I was 18 I thought that maybe there was an option to try and get to the Olympics and make a career out of the sport. At that point, I went all in and moved to Weymouth.

QYOU HAVE COMPETED ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHAT ARE YOUR HIGHLIGHTS? SB: My highlights of competing around the world are two extremes. The first one is competing in the Mirror World Championships in Tasmania, Australia; at that age it felt incredible to be travelling doing something you love against cultures and people you had never experienced before. The second highlight is more recently sailing the GBR F50 in San Francisco for the SailGP series. Certainly the coolest boats I have ever raced, and the event was a breakthrough for our team who were on a steep learning curve to catch the more experienced teams in the series. All that being said, nothing has come close to the experience of winning a Silver medal at a first/home Olympic Games in London 2012.

QWHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT RACING IN THE 49ER CLASS? SB: The thing I like is the challenge of just sailing the boat fast and hard around the course. They have a lot of sail area which is combined with wings and twin trapeze to make them fast and fruity. Not only are they a challenge to sail, but the class draws in some of the best sailors in the world, which makes the racing very tactical and tight too.

QCAN YOU DESCRIBE THE FEELING WHEN YOU GET THE NEWS OF OLYMPIC SELECTION? SB: The phone call from the team manager, Mark Robinson, is the best phone call you could ask for really. Although it is just another stepping stone in the campaign, it is a big one when it comes to the British Sailing Team because historically we have strength and depth in our squads and in sailing only one team per country gets the class Olympic spot. You have got to be in it to win it.

The Olympic sailing competition in Rio. Image: Sailing Energy/ World Sailing

Saskia Clark also stood at the top of the podium after upgrading their London 2012 silver to gold in the Women’s 470. The final 2016 medallist, Nick Dempsey, became the most decorated windsurfer in Olympic history with a silver, taking his personal medal tally up to three.

Changing classes There have been no major class changes since Rio, so the same 10 classes will be competing for medals in the 2020 Olympic sailing competition. Having said that, the next generation Nacra 17 has been upgraded into a fully foiling design.

Olympic champion Giles Scott is back for Tokyo, as is Hannah Mills, although with a new partner in Eilidh McIntyre. Nick Dempsey does not return for Tokyo, but his Rio training partner, Tom Squires, will be going for gold in the RS:X Men instead.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games take place from 23 July to 8 August, with the sailing competition held in Enoshima Yacht Harbour from 25 July to 4 August. It is actually the second time Olympic sailors will have raced at Enoshima; the island hosted the sailing competition during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. set to take place a lot closer to home, in Marseille. However, there will be yet another change in classes, partly aimed at improving gender equity in the sport.

The Finn, the longest-serving oneperson dinghy event in the Olympic regatta, having featured at every Games since Helsinki 1952, is being replaced. Just last month, the IOC approved Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding (Formula Kite) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition, despite World Sailing’s first choice replacement events being Mixed Kiteboarding and Mixed Offshore.

The individual men’s and women’s 470 dinghy classes will also become one mixed 470 event and the two RS:X classes are being replaced by men’s and women’s iQFoil windfoiling. Although there will still be 10 events in the Paris Games, the athlete quota is reducing to 350 from 330.

For now, though, all eyes are on Tokyo, and the British sailors will be doing their best to maintain the British reputation for domination on the water.

OLYMPIC SAILING MEDAL TALLY

Gold Silver Bronze Total GB 28 19 11 58 USA 19 23 18 60 Norway 17 11 3 31 Spain 13 5 1 19 France 12 5 14 35

QYOU WON SILVER AT LONDON 2012 IN THE 470 CLASS. CAN YOU GO ONE BETTER AT TOKYO? SB: A gold medal is what has been driving me since 2012, it is what gets me out of bed in the mornings. For sure Dylan and I are capable of winning Gold in Tokyo. Like all gold medals, though, we will need to deliver our best performance on the day. One thing for sure is that we will be trying our hardest! QWITH ALL THE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE TOKYO GAMES THIS YEAR IT HAS NOT BEEN A NORMAL RUN UP. HOW HAS THIS AFFECTED YOU? SB: We have been leaning on the British 49er squad to help us prepare. Travel and competitions have been hard to come by. We have done two regattas this year, one in Lanzarote in March and one in Santander, Spain. For an Olympic year that is very few regattas. We have trained on the Olympic waters of Enoshima, but not for a long time. The good news is that no one else has either. We have been training hard at home with the squad and are ready for whatever Tokyo 2020 throws at us.

QDYLAN FLETCHER WAS ONCE YOUR RIVAL ON THE WATER. WHAT IS HE LIKE TO SAIL WITH? SB: Yes, it is strange to sail with a rival from the last cycle, but we have a lot of respect for each other and have enjoyed this current campaign together. Off the water, he is 100 per cent dedicated to the sport and brings a wealth of technical knowledge to the table. We try to keep it serious on the water but have lots of fun doing that.

QWHO DO YOU THINK ARE YOUR MAIN RIVALS AT THE OLYMPICS, IN THE 49ER AND AS A COUNTRY OVERALL? SB: Our main rivals in the 49er are for sure the NZL team, they have been dominant in the class for some time, but we feel we are closer to them than ever. GER, ESP, AUT teams are also going to be fighting it out for the podium spots. It is really hard to say how the team will do overall, mainly because of Covid and the lack of competitions. We do have a great team, though, capable of medalling in every class and Team GB are experts in creating a world-class performance environment in the venue.

QDO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL ROUTINES BEFORE AN EVENT? SB: Not really, no. I do not know if this is classed as a routine, but our best regattas are the ones we have turned up to prepared. Given the current circumstances, we feel as prepared as we can be.