Teo Wee Chin, 20, underwent right shoulder surgery for recurrent dislocation in December. He is currently six weeks postoperative and is progressing ahead of schedule in his recovery. Thus, he is unable to sail until full recovery slated in March 2008.
Wee Chin is a member of SingaporeSailing’s Olympic Squad and Project 0812. The three 470 men pairs in the SingaporeSailing’s Olympic Squad vying to compete at the 2008 Olympics are: Roy Tay / Chung Pei Ming, Teo Wee Chin / Benjamin Tan Jia Ming and Xu Yuan Zhen / Terence Koh.
Singapore’s 470 men sailors have qualified a berth for the country at last July’s ISAF World Championships in Portugal, finishing amongst the top 21 countries in the event to earn a slot for 2008 Olympics. Selection trials will decide which of the three pairs will sail in the Olympics. The rest of the 470 men sailors have unanimously agreed to postpone the selection trials to give opportunity to Wee Chin to endeavour to recover in time so he can compete at the trials.
Wee Chin is currently undergoing daily physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions at Singapore Sports Council’s Sports Medicine clinic. He is also undergoing regular Strength and Conditioning sessions to maintain his fitness while he is unable to sail. Wee Chin’s rehabilitation programme and conditioning programme is being coordinated between SingaporeSailing and Singapore Sport Council’s Sports Medicine and Sports Science department.
“With the care and support I have received, recovery has been a breeze. My shoulder is getting stronger as I have been undergoing daily physiotherapy. I hope to get back on the water sailing in March.
“I am very touched by the utmost support my team mates have given to me. There’s definitely a lot for me to catch up, you bet I’ll put in my all to give them a run for their money,” said Wee Chin on hearing the news of the postponement of the trials.
“If he continues his current progress, he should be medically cleared to resume sailing in time for the Olympic trials,” said Dr Cormac O Muircheartaigh, Singapore Sports Council’s Sports Physican.
“We are looking forward to Wee Chin’s recovery and return to training with us again. Some countries have already selected their Olympic sailors. The advantage of a later trial date is also that the best pair is selected to represent Singapore as close to the Olympics as possible,” said Terence Koh, 20.
Justin Liu, current 420 Junior European Champion and 29er Australian National Champion, will step in to partner Benjamin Tan for the upcoming 470 World Championships.
For the 470 women, the 470 World Championship is the second and final chance for them to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. Sailors Dawn Liu Xiaodan / Elizabeth Tan and Toh Liying / Deborah Ong will now endeavour to fight for one of the five remaining spots available for qualification.
"The sailors’ gesture of postponing the trials to allow Wee Chin time to recover epitomizes the true spirit of sportsmanship. I am very proud of them.
Justin has stepped into the 470 straight from an excellent performance at the recent 29er Worlds and Australian Nationals, his versatility to adapt demonstrates the bench strength of our sailors.
Our current focus is to qualify in three more classes for the Olympics. We have seen the potential to do so with the sailors in recent top grade competitions and will leave no stone unturned in the qualification process,” said Andrew Sanders, SingaporeSailing’s Chief Executive Officer.
About the 470 World Championships
The ISAF Grade 1 470 Men’s and Women’s World Championships will be held from 21-30 January at Mordialloc Sailing Club, North Aspendale in Melbourne.
Olympic Qualifier
With eight Olympic places in the Men’s and five in the Women’s, the 470 Worlds at Sail Melbourne is where the remaining 13 nations will be qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, so there is a lot riding on this event. Other competitors will be trying to out sail their fellow countrymen and women to score the prized place in their respective Olympic teams.
Entries
Over 150 entries in total had been received from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the USA.
Series and courses
The competition will consist of a Qualifying Series and the Final Series. For each series, crews will be divided into groups of equal numbers. For the Final Series, crews will be divided into final groups; Gold, Silver, Bronze, approximately with the same number of participants each. On the last day, the first ten crews of the group Gold at the end of the day before the last day will sail the “Medal” race.
Qualifying 24-26 January - six races
Final Series 27-30 January – seven races, including the Medal Race
Event website: www.sailmelbourne.com.au
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