Ed Wright is convinced he can beat Ben Ainslie

by Hampshire Net on 15 Dec 2007
Ed Wright is convinced he can prove the sailing community wrong by beating Hampshire star Ben Ainslie to a place in Britain's Olympic team this weekend.

The general consensus, supported by several members of Skandia Team GBR, is that the race-off between the Finn class duo at the Sydney International Regatta is just delaying Ainslie's inevitable selection.

But Wright, currently ranked fifth in the world, says he has 'nothing to be scared of' in the regatta which runs from tomorrow to Tuesday.

'Why should I?' he said. 'I've proven myself to be among the very best in the class, I have the right to try and get in the team. Can I beat Ben? I reckon I can.

'The years he spent in the America's Cup, I spent racing the Finn. He has the talent and quality to come back in and do well with just a year of preparation (for the Olympics) but I've trained in this class since January 2005 and that's a big advantage to me.

'He won the Olympic test event a couple of months ago so he is obviously still very sharp in this boat, but I've spent nearly three years fine-tuning for this.

'I've got plenty of confidence for this event. It's not going to be easy getting in this team but, at the same time, it isn't meant to be; Team GBR is the most successful sailing team in the world.'

Assuming the racing is close in Sydney, the duo will face off again at the Finn Gold Cup in January in Melbourne, and then possibly in Europe.

Full story - This is Hampshire net