The winning team at the 2006 Asian Games.

2005 was a truly extraordinary year for High Performance sailing in Singapore. 2006 was even better – a bag full of Asian Games medals and 7 world titles. Our sailors conquered new heights, showing that Singapore is the world’s fastest rising nation in sailing.

Following the medals won at the 2005 SEA Games, our sailors continued their good form by clinching podium finishes at the March 2006 Asian Sailing Championships in Qatar, the “Test Event” for the later Asian Games. Singapore surpassed strong teams around Asia, including powerhouses such as China and Korea to emerge as the top performing nation.

We are undisputedly the best sailing team in Asia, with 5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 15th Asian Games. In addition, there will be a ready pool of sailors to sustain this winning streak, as the mean age of our sailors, at a mere 18, was the youngest amongst the other teams in the Singapore contingent. Our disabled sailors brought glory to Singapore as well, dominating the competition with podium finishes in all the events at the 9th FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur. 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal at their first Games augurs well for Sailability Singapore’s future representations.

In July 2006, Colin Cheng and Victoria Chan captured the Boys’ and Girls’ titles respectively in the 4.7 World and European Championships. A few days later, there was more good news for SingaporeSailing when Nicholas de Cruz and Elizabeth Yin accomplished another double victory at the Arch Byte CII World Championships.

It commenced inconspicuously with Calvin Lim taking the top spot in the 2004 Byte Worlds; was spurred on by Teo Wee Chin and Terence Koh’s historical moment as the first Asian team to win the 420 Youth Worlds in 2005; and culminated in the spectacular crowning of four World Champions within a week in 2006. It is hard for sailing powerhouses not to sit up and take notice of Singapore’s up and rising young champions.

Not to be outdone, our Optimist sailors staked claim on more world titles at the Optimist World Championships in December 2006 and January 2007. Taking on 47 other nations and 228 competitors, the group of under-16 sailors won 3 of the 4 titles at stake; a feat unprecedented by any nation.

They beat three-time gold-medallist Peru in the Team Racing Finals to bring the trophy back. Their individual performance also outclassed the rest of the world and won them the Miami Herald Trophy for being the best overall country.

Griselda Khng proved her mettle, making a noteworthy comeback from a disappointing 4th place finish at the Asian Games to emerge as the world’s top female Optimist sailor. In the open category, she was also in strong contention for the gold medal, maintaining her lead right up to the last race.

Riding on the back of individual and team titles in continental regattas such as the IODA North and South American Championships and the IODA Asian Championships, the Optimist World Championships sealed the Optimist sailors’ position as number one in the world.

These achievements affirmed that Singapore is a frontrunner in the youth circuit. We look forward to many more opportunities for the Singapore National Anthem to be played on the world stage.