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For the first time ever, six sailors from Singapore qualified for four events (single-handed dinghy men & women – Laser standard & Laser radial, and double-handed dinghy men & women – 470 men & women) to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games. The 2008 Olympic Games also marks the first time Singapore is participating in the double handed dinghy women’s event (470 women). Singapore sailors’ performance can be described as "good but not good enough". The conditions at the Fushan Bay in Qingdao were difficult with fluky winds and choppy seas which had overwhelmed our sailors. More time should have been spent to familiarise with the sailing conditions despite our sailors having made six trips over two years to the venue. Further, the sailing competition was at a very high level with the sailors from the traditional countries from Europe, Australia and Great Britain. It was an eye-opener for the Singapore sailors and a need for the SingaporeSailing management to review its plans to level up its training and preparations for future Olympic campaigns. SingaporeSailing's Olympic programme kick started in 2005 and its funding for the programme was boosted with the inception of Project 0812, 20 months ago in January 2007. The Project 0812 contributed to the sailors' further progress from the Asian to Olympic stage. SingaporeSailing is grateful to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports, Singapore National Olympic Council and Singapore Sports Council for their continued support towards the sport of sailing. SingaporeSailing is proud of the achievements of the sailors in qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games. The standard of competition in the Olympic Games is very high; the places allocated are also limited. The sailors have come up against the world's best sailors in the Olympic Games and performed credibly to finish in the vicinity of their qualifying positions and to perform largely on par with their Asian counterparts, but as yet not as consistently as athletes from the top nations from Europe and countries like Great Britain, USA and Australia. Five out of six sailors made their debut Olympics in China. Their performances are a good base to build on for the 2012 Olympic Games. The results have shown that Singapore sailors have the potential as some highly ranked and favoured nations finished in the vicinity of our sailors ' finishing positions. Such as 2007 World Laser Radial Champion Tatiana Drozdovskaya from Belarus who finished two places in front of Lo Man Yi and the top ranked 470 women sailors in the world, Ai Kondo and Naoko Kamata from Japan, finished in the vicinity of Toh Liying and Deborah Ong. The depth of competition at the Olympic Games is extremely high and medalists have generally been on the Olympic campaign for many cycles. For example, multiple world champion Nathan Wilmot has spent a decade sailing in the 470 and has just won his first medal (gold) at his second Olympic Games. In sailing, most Olympic medalists are in the range of late 20s to late 30s. The youthfulness of the Singapore team at an average age of 21 years augurs well for the Singapore team in the hunt for medals at the Olympics as they have multiple Olympic cycles ahead of them. Overall, the Singapore sailors finished in the following positions: 470 women - Toh Liying, 23 & Deborah Ong, 18 Laser standard - Koh Seng Leong, 25 Laser radial - Lo Man Yi, 20 All Asian nations finished in the same vicinity. The sailing results at the 2008 Olympic Games, though not brilliant, are an improvement compared to previous Olympic Games outings by Singapore. The Singapore sailors have showed tremendous potential by getting some top ten results in individual races. Though relatively inexperienced, in time, their confidence and abilities will increase to achieve the sailing consistency required for winning at the Olympic level. With the Olympic sailing regatta just completed in Qingdao, Singapore's 2012 Olympic sailing programme has just begun and the quest remains for Singapore to win medals in sailing at the Olympic Games. Welcome Back, Olympic Sailors |
