Yachting Australia

The men and Women’s windsurfing events are two of the most eagerly awaited tests of the 2004 Olympic Games. With 34 nations in the men’s event and 26 in the Women’s, they will be providing some competitive, physical racing throughout the Olympic Fortnight.

The Windsurfing event was introduced for men in the 1984 Olympic Games, and for women the event's first appearance was at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. The Mistral One-Design has been used for Olympic equipment since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and since then there has been no one athlete who has dominated either fleet, although many have regularly featured in medal positions. Nikos KAKLAMANAKIS (GRE) won the first Olympic Gold medal using the Mistral One-Design in the men’s event in 1996.

For the women's event it was Barbara KENDALL (NZL) who created history by becoming the first woman to win the event, competing at that time on the Lechner A-390.  However, the first ever Gold medal using the Mistral One-Design went to Lee Lai SHAN (HKG). Interestingly, Neither Kaklamanakis nor Lee Lai SHAN could replicate the form that held them aloft in Atlanta, in Sydney in 2000. They both eventually finished sixth in their respective events on Sydney Harbour.  But they will all be back again in 2004.

The Olympic Gold medals in 2000 went to current World Champion Alessandra SENSINI (ITA) and Christoph SEIBER (AUT).

Women

The 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition welcomes 13 athletes in the women’s event making their Olympic debut, whilst in the men’s fleet this numbers 15 out of the 34 sailors. Seven sailors across both fleets have been bitten by the medal bug and are returning to Athens to add to their quiver. Barbara KENDALL (NZL) is one of those sailors and holds the record of winning a medal at every Olympic Games where windsurfing has been a full event, one of each colour. Initially winning in the Lechner A-390 in Barcelona 1992, she finished second in Atlanta and third in 2000 in Sydney. A popular champion she’ll be hoping to make it four out of four in Athens.

Sensini is back in 2004 in order to defend her Olympic title and as current World Champion it will not be a title she gives up easily. Currently ranked third in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, Sensini is no stranger to top-level international racing. Her first taste of a major event was the 1987 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, in which she went away with a bronze medal. Adding to her World Championship win this year she won the Worlds in 2000 and finished runner-up in 2002. This year she won the ISAF Grade 1 Kiel Week, finished fourth in the European Championship, and perhaps more importantly, won the Athens Eurolymp, sailed on the same piece of water that will see intense competition this week. A nice follow on from winning the 2003 Athens Test Event, the final trial for the real thing, and preceding that the 2002 Test Event, which both times saw Lee LAI SHAN sitting in the Silver medal position.

Gold medallist at the 1987 Youth Worlds in which Sensini won bronze was a certain Jessica CRISP (AUS). Since that victory, Crisp has move into the Pro Windsurfing Tour, and comes back to Olympic Competition after finishing fifth in Sydney in 2000. This year she has put together a useful string of results and with a second place finish at the ISAF Grade 1 SPA Regatta, she is clearly back on form and ready to challenge her old rival in the battle for medals.

French windsurfing is at an all time high, the country has for many years been a great advocate of the sport and they are currently rewarded by holding the top spot in both the men and women’s fleets in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings.

In the women’s fleet the position is held by Faustine MERRET from Brest on the Atlantic coast. This 26-year old has risen into stardom by consistently performing at the very top of important international regattas. Third at both the 2003 and 2004 World Championships, she has only competed in five Grade 1 events this year, but in those five she has never failed to finish outside the top three and if anyone had any doubt about her intentions for Athens, she washed those away by winning the 2004 SPA Regatta.

1996 Gold medallist, and Hong Kong’s first Olympic medal winner in any sport Lee Lai SHAN is back for some more Olympic action. World Champion in 1993, 1997 and 2001, she has once again begun to pick up her game with a view to being on the podium in Athens, but having only done two events this year makes her a difficult one to judge. She did have top ten finishes in both the World and European Championships and has always been known to perform on the big stage when it matters, and it doesn’t come any bigger than the Olympic Sailing Competition.

Natasha STURGES (GBR) competed in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships for Australia. Now sailing under the flag of Great Britain she will be representing her adopted country in Athens. In 1996 she finished ninth in Savannah and in finishing ninth at the 2004 World Championship she has lined herself up for at least a top ten place, if not a chance at a medal.

Youth sailors are well represented in the Mistral fleets, Zofia KLEPACKA (POL), won the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 in true style. Her youth form has not quite transformed into the senior fleets, but the smaller fleet size in Athens will certainly be to her liking. Likewise Blanca MANCHON (ESP) since finishing third at the 2003 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship has come on leaps and bounds. 27 at the Worlds in Cadiz, she picked up to seventh at the 2004 World Championship before arguably her best result yet, a second place at the 2004 Mistral European Championship.

And what will Lee KORSIZ (ISR) have in store.  With only five ISAF ranked events to her name before she took the world by storm with her performance at the 2003 ISAF World Championship in Cadiz, Lee has a bit more experience under her belt and could certainly cook up another interesting result in Athens.

No women’s preview would be complete without commenting on the form of German Amelie LUX. Silver medallist in Sydney, she has had a roller coaster ride of results over the years since she won the Youth Worlds in 1994. Disappointing results in the World Championships in 2003 and 2004 were quickly followed up by third place finishes at Hyeres and SPA. Definitely one for the smaller fleet, she will revel in the tricky conditions in Athens.

Men

In the 34 nation entry for the men’s fleet the ISAF World Sailing Rankings are led by current World Champion Julien BONTEMPS (FRA). Although this will be his Olympic debut, the French athlete has been on such dominant form over the last couple of years that it would be a brave person who bet against him being on the medal podium at the end of the men’s competition.

Bontemps' ride will not be easy however. Not winning a medal in Sydney has given a new determination to 1996 Gold medallist Nikos KAKLAMANAKIS (GRE). Representing Greece on home waters, in front of a home crowd and at a milestone Olympic Games will give the local hero just the added impetus to do well. Favouring days and days of training privately, Kaklamanakis has not sailed in any of the tour events this year, preferring to show the world what he can do when it matters. He certainly has the pedigree to back it up as well with World Championship victories in 1996, 2000 and 2001, and having won both the 2002 and 2003 Athens Test Event.

Many in the Mistral fleet have come up through the traditional youth route and represented their country at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships. There are no fewer than five ISAF Youth World Championship winners, and countless others who have competed within the Athens entry list. These include the likes of Thomas ASHLEY, who represented New Zealand at the 2002 Youth Worlds where he finished second. Since then he has taken the number 1 spot in New Zealand and carries the expectations that go with it very well.

An even more recent competitor is Vaselin NANEV from Bulgaria. He is having the ride of his life at the moment as he not only represented his country at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships in Poland this year, but he will also be representing it at the Olympic Games. At 17 years old this athlete is one of the youngest Olympic stars and big things are expected of him in the future.

Ho Chi HO (HKG) joins his female teammate Lee Lai SHAN in Athens this year. Winner of the 1999 Youth Worlds, he will be aiming to emulate Lee’s success in Olympic windsurfing and his potential is clearly recognised with an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship that partly funds his Olympic Campaign.

Przemyslaw MIARCZYSNKI (POL) was a popular winner of the 2003 ISAF World Championships in Cadiz and his second at this year's World Championship demonstrates that the form “Pont” shows coming into this Olympic Sailing Competition is not a fluke. He finished eighth in Sydney and is known as a heavy weather specialist. Having worked on his light wind technique and reduced weight gives him a fantastic boost and he could really be challenging for the top spot in Athens next week.