Olympics

Hannah Mills & Eilidh McIntyre are out to defend their 470 class world title as they go into battle against the world’s best just four months out from Tokyo 2020. The 2020 470 World Championships in Palma will be one of the last opportunities for Mills and McIntyre to test themselves against their rivals before the Olympics....

Andrew Lewis's last gasp qualification for his third Olympic Games had all neutral observers in tears. The Trinidadian's epic story continues towards Tokyo 2020....

On this month’s show we start a new series building up to this summer’s Olympic Games. We start by looking at the favourites for medals in the 470 and bring you our guide to the sailing venue in Enoshima...

The first edition of FINNFARE in 2019 has been published with the amazing photo of Giles Scott bursting through a wave on the final reach during the medal race in Palma, brilliantly caught by Junichi Hirai of Bulkhead Magazine. There's a deep analysis of hiking styles and did you know that, 'when you are sailing close to the boat in front of you, you are enjoying a current of 2 knots with you?' Neither did we!

Over the coming 14 months the final 10 places for Finns on the starting line at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be determined. With the exception of the African continental qualifier, the full qualification system for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been published by World Sailing...

Roy Dunster argues the case for change in advance of the debate in Florida at the World Sailing Conference. Will it make any difference at all? Probably not. The Member National Authorities (MNAs) have a long history of voting for short-term, self interest. Understandable - up to a point. But not at the expense of losing sailing from the Olympics. Roy makes the case for a bolder choice....

In the words of Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”. In that context, sailing is in for a rough time…...So says Roy Dunster in this add-on to the podcast chat from last week, where the management consultant warned that the Olympic Regatta must go through revolutionary change in order to maximise its chances of survival....

South African sailor Roy Dunster argues that Olympic sailing is stuck in a time warp. When the rest of the world is moving at such a pace, Roy says the line-up of Olympic events should reflect those changing times....

Anyone has the right to start a petition. However, when it’s as misleading as the one about the equipment for the 2024 Sailing Olympic Games, it deserves a response. Some of the impressions that you might have from the petition motivation:

1. Our sport is under imminent threat!

2. The very future of our sport is at risk!

Day 1 of the Mid Year Meeting and the Events Committee discussed all the options and laid out the proposal to include the following events in the Paris 2024 Olympic Regatta line-up:

Windsurfing for Men & Women
Kitesurfing (Mixed)
Finn (Men)
A new singlehander (Women)

So, no room for the 470......

There's a feeling that the International Olympic Committee is breathing down the neck of World Sailing, and watching our sport’s decisions very closely, writes Andy Rice. “Change or Die” more or less sums up the feeling. We’d better make some radical changes quickly, or else they’ll be forced upon us. Worst case, sailing is ejected from the Games altogether....