Star Worlds 2010 - Top Star sailors expect a tough competition

by ZDL - João Pedro Nunes on 15 Jan 2010
The Star World Championship will officially begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Guanabara Bay. The participation of the world's top Star sailors will ensure such a strong ragatta, that it is practically impossible to name any favorites.

That was the general consensus of top Star sailors, such as current world champions George Szabo and Rick Peters (USA), reigning Olympic champion Iain Percy (UK) and Brazilian sailors Marcelo Ferreira, two-time Olympic and World Champion, Alan Adler, first South-American Star World Champion in 1989, and Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, world champions and Olympic silver medalists, at this morning's press conference at the Yacht Club of Rio de Janeiro.

'Except for the Polish and New-Zealand teams, everybody is here. I could name some 15 possible World Champions. The competition level will be very high,' ensured Robert Scheidt, holder of four Olympic medals and ten world titles (nine in the Laser class).

'I think the biggest challenge will be to compete against the excellent Brazilian teams at home,' said Iain Percy, who left behind temperatures of 15 degrees below zero in England, 'that is experiencing the coldest winter of the last 10 years', and arrived in Rio de Janeiro with 40 degree temperatures. 'It’s a good thing that I am used to training outside of England in the winter.'

For crew member Marcelo Ferreira, who will be competing once again with Torben Grael, winning the World Championship is a lot harder than winning the Olympics. 'At the World Championships you race against more than a hundred opponents, with some countries entering at least three or four excellent teams. At the Olympics, there are just 16 boats, only one entry per country.'

According to Alan Adler there is another challenge in the World Championship. 'The regattas only consists of six races so nobody can afford any mistakes. One bad race may end any chances of winning the title. That's why it’s very important to have a good start and some luck.'

George Szabo, 2009 world champion in Sweden with Rick Peters, also believes that luck is essential. 'Of course you have to be well prepared, but luck always plays a key role. Our goal is to always finish among the first ten in each race. That’s the secret to surprising people once again.'

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