Olympic medal for S’pore sailors?

SINGAPORE — With a record-high of eight sailors from five classes earning their tickets to Rio de Janeiro, Team Singapore is emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the region. The Republic’s athletes share top spot with China in Olympic representation in sailing (eight sailors in six boats), while Japan and South Korea have qualified six and four athletes respectively.

While Singapore has yet to make its mark on the sport’s biggest stage at the Olympics, Rob Holden, World Sailing’s training and development adviser, believes the Republic’s sailors have what it takes to mix it up with the best in the world.

The 47-year-old was in town last week for the World Sailing Development Symposium at the Singapore Sports Institute, and the former South African national champion (Dart 18) — who now works on developing the sport in emerging sailing nations — was impressed with what he saw.

“Singapore Sailing has done extremely well in developing a really successful programme … they have been very successful with the Optimist and lower age group sailors,” he told TODAY.

“It’s the ones above that haven’t had as much success. But this year they have qualified five teams for the Olympics and that puts them at the top level of sailing and the top of their game.”

Landing that elusive Olympic medal is not an impossible feat, insisted Holden, who pointed to the Singapore Sailing Federation’s (SSF) move to develop sailors in the 29er as one that could reap rewards.

In January, the national sports association decided to switch six sailors from the 420 youth class to the 29er — a two-man boat targeted at youth training to sail the larger 49er Olympic class.

“I’m watching the girls’ 49erFX and I believe that’s where Singapore should be going. Singapore are very successful in windsurfing and that’s another area that can win a medal,” added Holden, who had previously worked as a coach and national training manager in South Africa.

“The boat (29er) is suited to lighter, smaller people, and Asians are smaller in general. You can get more people who are competitive, and those in the 29er can go on to the 49er and 49erFX.

“It is tough for Asian sailors to make it in boats that need slightly bigger sailors … the laser is very difficult for smaller people to sail. But they can sail double handed boats and I believe that is where Asians will excel.”

Elevating the standards of athletes and coaches to build a competitive environment in the region will also be key to the sport’s fortunes here, said Holden.

Keeping ahead of Olympic sailing trends will also be crucial, said Holden, as World Sailing works to keep the sport relevant and attractive to spectators and fans. The high-adrenaline sport of kiteboarding was initially included in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, with the decision reversed by the International Sports Federations last November six months after it decided to replace windsurfing with the new event.

Holden expects kiteboarding to feature in 2024, as he added: “The IOC (International Olympic Committee) is putting a lot of pressure on World Sailing to make the sport more spectator friendly — spectators like speed, sexy (sports) and accidents.

“I think we’re going to see faster boats and the newest trend is foiling multi-hull boats coming out of the water. Kiteboarding will almost definitely be in and that’s another easy area to get into as it’s easy to travel with a board and kite. Singapore needs to start looking into it.”

The SSF is working with the Kitesurfing Association of Singapore to grow the sport here, build a strong base of kiteboarders and develop an elite field of athletes.