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From www.starclass.org Human Interest The Star and the Olympics
Iain Murray and Andrew Palfrey Iain Murray’s Qingdao diet and exercise program has transformed him from Big Fella to a great cyclist. Despite winning numerous 18-foot skiff and Etchells World Championships and being involved with several Australian-based America’s Cup campaigns, this is Murray’s first Olympics. Always involved in the marine industry, Palfrey has been making sure that all of the logistics of doing a campaign from Down Under are taken care of. This is Palfrey’s first Olympics. Articles: Murray Hitches Himself to a Star Iain Murray plotting Beijing sailing conquest Giant Trims his Sails to Keep Olympic Dream Alive Murray and Palfrey are posting their news at www.sailing-dog.com. There is also a video of them at http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4275465&ch=&cl=7754764&src=y7sports. --------------------
Hans Spitzauer and Christian Nehammer After finishing 24th at the 2007 ISAF World Championships, Hans Spitzhauer made sailing their full time jobs. Spitzauer, who finished 4th in the Finn in Savannah and has been to the Olympics three times already, knows what it takes to campaign the right way. Their coach, Alfred Pelinka, has dissected every aspect of their sailing and has been working closely with them this year. They posted a 5th in the Bacardi Cup and masterfully prevented another team that was beating them going into the final race of the 2008 World Championship from securing one of the final Olympic berths. Articles: Star Class article on Spitzauer/Nehammer Spitzauer/Nehammer um Olympia-Ticket Spitzauer and Nehammer have a website in German at http://www.sail2peking.at. -----------------------
Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada Not only did Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada win the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships in the Men’s Keelboat last year to be crowned the Star World Champions but they won two other tough regattas that give a clear indication of how they will perform at the Olympics – the 2007 Pre-Olympic Regatta and the Star Rio de Janeiro Championship, which doubled as the Brazilian Trials. They were third at the 2008 Star World Championships in a borrowed boat. They are focused, strong and fantastic in every condition. Scheidt has two Olympic gold medals and one silver for his performances in the Laser at the Atlanta, Athens and Sydney Olympics, respectively. Scheidt will be the flag bearer for the Brazilian Olympic Team at the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing on August 8th. Articles: Seahorse Magazine article on Scheidt/Prada NBC Olympics article on Scheidt Photo gallery on Robert Scheidt Their news is posted at http://www.robertscheidt.com.br/. It is in Portuguese. --------------------
Honquan Li and He Wang What a thrill to represent your country in the Olympics when you are a citizen of the host country! Li and Wang have made progress on their boat handling, equipment and tuning, but they have a long way to go to shift gears as well as the rest of the teams that have qualified for the Olympics. This is their Olympic debut. -------------------
Marin Lovrovic Jr. and Sinisa Mikulicic The Lovrovics shared an Olympic dream and the entire family made it happen. Marin Jr. and Sinisa Mikulicic qualified Croatia for the Olympics for 2008. Marin Jr. says that it’s his younger brother, Dan’s turn in 2012. This is the first Olympic appearance for Lovrovic Jr. and Mikulicic. They are part of a ten-member Croatian Olympic sailing team, the largest Olympic sailing squad to ever represent Croatia at the Olympics. ----------------------
Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau They wear the gold star on their sail for their victories in the 2003 ISAF World Championship and their 2005 Star World Championship. These gentlemen are consistent. They sail with stock equipment. They are usually among the top pack at the first weather mark and their conservative sailing, impeccable fleet management skills and tactics enable them to hold their lead or pull into the top three. Rohart and Rambeau were the bronze medalists at the Athens Olympics. Rohart’s first Olympic appearance was in 2000 where he finished 5th in the Finn. Articles: Article on Rohart/Rambeau NBC Olympics article on Rohart Photo gallery on Rohart/Rambeau Dans la tęte de... XAVIER ROHART - LE STAR, C'EST LUI Xavier Rohart Bio (French) Rohart and Rambeau have their news at www.xavier-rohart.com. ---------------------
Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson Percy and Simpson came off America’s Cup campaigns, hopped into the Star and qualified Great Britain for the Olympics. They have spent a lot of time working on developing a Mader Star for the Olympic regatta in Qingdao and have demonstrated their speed, tactics and ability to put themselves in controlling situations since April’s 2008 World Championships. This is Percy’s third Olympic appearance. He won the gold medal in the Finn in 2000 and was 6th in the Star in 2004. Simpson started crewing for Percy as part of the Team Origin America’s Cup Team and started crewing in the Star in 2007. This is Simpson’s first Olympic competition, although he was always a strong competitor in the Finn class. Article: Andrew Simpson Percy and Simpson have information on their preparations at www.skandiastar.com -------------------------
Marc Pickel and Ingo Borkowski Pickel/Borkowski qualified Germany for the Olympics in 2007 with a 7th place finish at the 2007 ISAF World Championships in Cascais, Portugal. They finished 5th at the 2008 Star World Championships in April and have been spending a lot of energy on building their custom designed P-Star. They are close training partners with Americans John Dane III and Austin Sperry and are being coached by two-time Olympic Gold medalist, Mark Reynolds. This is Borkowski’s second Olympic appearance. He has a silver medal from his performance at the Sydney Olympics in the Soling. Article: Peking 2008 - Pickel und Borkowski nach Peking Pickel and Borkowski has their information posted at http://www.pinta-racing.com/star/index_eng.html in English and at http://www.pinta-racing.com/star/index_ger.html in German. ---------------------
Peter O’Leary and Stephen Milne Article on O'Leary/Milne Youngsters and newcomers to the Star Class, Peter O’Leary and Stephen Milne are on fire. They’ve spent the season trying to keep up with their training partners, Brits Ian Percy and Andrew Simpson, and have shown exceptional speed. They won the final race at the 2008 Star Worlds. O’Leary is from the famous Irish O’Leary sailing family and he was Ireland’s sailor of the year in 2007. Their nomination as the Olympic representatives in Qingdao is a clear signal that they are likely to be in Weymouth for the 2012 Games. ------------------------
Diego Negri and Luigi Viale Diego Negri and Luigi Viale won a long and hotly contested Italian Olympic Trials and have had a series of good finishes this spring. Topping the list was their second place finish in the 2008 World Championship in Miami. This is Negri’s third Olympic regatta. He finished 8th and 13th in the Laser at the Sydney and Athens Olympics, respectively. The Italians are posting news (in Italian) at www.negri-viale.it. -----------------------
Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams The 2006 Star World Champions had an impressive string of regattas in 2006-07. They are in good hands with coach, Rod Davis, who won the 2008 Star Masters Regatta. Pepper was 7th in the Lasers at the 2004 Olympics and has been involved in a number of America’s Cup campaigns. He is a member of BMW Oracle’s afterguard for the 33rd America’s Cup. Williams has joined BMW as a grinder. Articles: Short bio on Hamish Pepper Short Bio on Carl Williams Pepper and Williams have an ongoing blog. ------------------------
Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki Kusznierewicz and Zycki go into the Olympics as the 2008 Star World Champions. This is Kusznierewicz’ fourth Olympic Regatta. He collected a gold medal in 1996 and a silver in 2004 in the Finn. He was 4th in the Finn at the Sydney Olympics. Zycki has been in the bow of the Star since Kusznierewicz started sailing a Star. Andy Zawieja has been their coach. Articles: NBC Olympics article on Kusznierewicz Photo gallery on Kusznierewicz Mateusz and Domink are posting their updates in Polish at www.kusznierewicz.pl. --------------------
Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos Plantier By winning the 2008 Bacardi Cup, Domingos and Santos are the only Europeans to have won it twice. This is Domingos’ second Olympic appearance. He was 7th in Sydney in the 49ers. Domingos has put on weight and has a bigger crew, in Santos, for this Olympics. They are training partners with the Polish Star sailors. -----------------------
Flavio Marazzi and Enrico deMaria Marazzi has been designing a Star especially for a light air regatta in Qingdao. He’s perfected his boat and he and de Maria have had several performances that are testament to their speed. They led the Olympic Test Event in 2007 for quite a while and have sailed very well this year, including a 4th place finish at the 2008 World Championships. The team was 4th at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and has been obsessed with winning a medal ever since. Marazzi and his wife, Anouk, have just given birth to a baby girl. Marazzi and de Maria have a website in German at http://www.marazzi-sailing.ch. --------------------------
Freddy Loof and Anders Ekstrom Freddy Loof goes into his third Olympic regatta with bronze medal from Sydney in the Finn. He also is the 2001 and the 2004 Star World Champion helmsman and won the Finn Gold Cup in 1997 and 1999. This is Ekstrom’s second Olympics in the Star with Loof. The pair was 12th in Athens. ----------------------
John Dane III and Austin Sperry At 58, John Dane III is the oldest member of USA’s Olympic Team and he is the oldest sailor at this Olympics. Unlike Ronald Reagan, he does want to exploit the youth and inexperience of his competitors. Austin Sperry was a training partner for Paul Cayard at the Athens Olympics and his athleticism and youthful exuberance are an interesting combination with Dane’s experience. They have fantastic upwind speed. Articles: Summer Games Plus Article on Dane/Sperry Seahorse Magazine article on Dane/Sperry NBC Olympics article on Dane NBC Olympics article on Sperry Associated Press article on Dane/Sperry Photo gallery of Dane/Sperry at the Bacardi Cup ISAF article - John Dane lll - Launching Dreams of All Proportions You can read about the Americans as they work towards the Games at www.austinsperry.com/blog © Copyright 2007 by starclass.org |
