Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

2012 Olympics- Olympic place rejection signals the end of an Era

by Richard Gladwell on 22 Jun 2012
Barbara Kendall sailing in the Medal Race in Qingdao - her fifth Olympics Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz

The rejection, by Yachting New Zealand, of a place in the Womens Windsurfing event at the 2012 Olympics brings to a sad close a five Olympiad era, in which Barbara Kendall won three Olympic medals.

News of the place rejection came with the publication by the International Sailing Federation of the list of accepted Olympic allocations, and the re-allocations.

New Zealand was one of six countries who rejected an Olympic place across four events. Those places have been re-allocated to countries, generally developing sailing countries, who were unable to win a place in the prescribed qualifying process.

Commenting on the decision and non-selection, Barbara Kendall told Sail-World that while she was disappointed that Yachting NZ aren't sending a competitor, she felt that no-one had met the criteria. 'The selectors made the right decision,' she said.

'If Windsurfing was guaranteed to be in 2016 Olympics, then one of the competitors may have been selected on the basis of future Games potential,' she observed. 'Stephanie, Natalia and Justina all had flashes of brilliance, but could not pull a whole regatta together. All three were looking like great contenders for Rio. Usually it takes eight years to get to Olympic standard.'

'The only NZ competitor to have made selection in the windsurfer was JP Tobin and he is being coached by Aaron McIntosh under the Dutch HP program,' said Kendall 'The YNZ windsurfing coached athletes did not qualify!

'Many of our experienced coaches apart from Grant Beck are all coaching other countries,' she added.

(Kendall's reference to JP Tobin pointed to the to the fact that 2012 NZ Olympic representative JP Tobin was until recently, coached by Aaron McIntosh (Bronze medal winner in 2000) who is coaching 2011 World Champion Dorian van Rijsselberge, who will represent The Netherlands in Weymouth. For the past four months Tobin has been coached by top windsurfing coach, Grant Beck (NZL).)

'The Olympic selectors have reviewed the girls (sic) results and regrettably feel they do not justify an Olympic nomination as no candidate has been able to demonstrate a significant chance of achieving a medal in the 2012 Olympic games,' commented Yachting NZ CEO, David Abercrombie in response to a question from Sail-World.com

After triple Olympic medalist, Barbara Kendall, retired in May 2010 there were four aspirants to take up the challenge of being selected. The strongest of these, at the time, Kate Ellingham dropped out after a short comeback from a training injury and disputed selection by Yachting New Zealand where she believed she had met selection criteria set for the 2011 Pre-Olympics at Weymouth, England.

Ellingham had placed fifth and sixth in two ISAF Grade 1 regattas in 2008 and eighth in the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in 2010.

Three other competitors, Steffanie Williams, Natalia Kosinska and Justina Sellers continued in the selection cycle, and it was Williams who qualified NZ for the 2012 Olympics in the 2011 ISAF World Championship in Perth.

At the Skandia sail for Gold Regatta, sailed at Weymouth, England in early June 2012, Kosinska finished in 17th place overall and Williams 23rd in a 43 strong fleet.




Maritimo S SeriesSelden 2020 - FOOTERZhik 2024 December

Related Articles

Don't miss our upcoming must-watch free Webinar
Tracking and Fleet Monitoring discussion on 22nd October 2025 Yacht tracking and fleet monitoring are essential, ye traditional tracking methods face significant challenges. On October 22nd we are hosting an exclusive and free webinar, with an in-depth exploration of the latest in tracking technology.
Posted today at 11:05 am
Armstrong riders connect with SailGP sailors
Some of the world's best female foilers spent a few unforgettable days together in Tarifa and Cadiz From winging in Tarifa to F50 racing in Cádiz, some of the world's best female foilers came together as Armstrong riders and SailGP sailors spent a few unforgettable days learning from each other and witnessing foiling at its highest level.
Posted today at 8:21 am
49er & 49erFX and Nacra 17 Worlds Day 1
A really good opening day in Cagliari, Spain A really good opening day to the Worlds, with light to medium sea breeze and dusk-to-dawn sunshine across the bay of Cagliari. Spain is ahead in both the men's and women's skiffs and Great Britain takes the early lead in the Nacra 17 fleet.
Posted today at 5:32 am
Celebrating 60,000 Bot Days (and Counting)
Last month, MarkSetBot reached a meaningful milestone Last month, MarkSetBot reached a meaningful milestone: surpassing more than 60,000 Bot days on the water across our global fleet.
Posted on 7 Oct
From Nelson's Cup to the 600
The ultimate Caribbean challenge The 17th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 will start on Monday 23rd of February, 2026. Since 2009, sailors from around the world have enjoyed the spectacular and tactical course around 11 stunning Caribbean Islands and that has not changed.
Posted on 7 Oct
SailGP rolls through Cadiz, One Design racing news
F50s in Cadiz, Formula Kites, J/22s, Hobie 16s, and GL52s SailGP has enjoyed a fine tour of the United Kingdom and Europe of late. This wrapped up this past weekend in Cadiz, Spain, where the DP World Spain Sail Grand Prix was contested using the league's 24-meter wingsails and the light-air T-foils and rudders.
Posted on 7 Oct
Rolex Middle Sea Race - Accomplishment at its best
Success demands seamanship, perseverance, and the very best strategy For most people, the idea of a week in the Mediterranean evokes a picture of sun-drenched coastlines, shimmering blue water, a relaxed pace and delicious cuisine. For those competing in the annual Rolex Middle Sea Race, the image is very different.
Posted on 7 Oct
2025 GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla preview
Tour leaders seek to build title moment at penultimate stop of Kite-Surf season in Morocco Reigning world champions, France's Capucine Delannoy and Brazil's Gabriel Benetton, top the Kite-Surf rankings as they head to the season's penultimate stop in Dakhla, Morocco, on the Sahara desert's coastline.
Posted on 7 Oct
11th Hour Racing sponsors 2025 Transat Café L'or
Sponsorship expands efforts to drive sustainability and gender diversity 11th Hour Racing announced today that it will serve as the Sustainability Sponsor of the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie, a premier transatlantic sailing race.
Posted on 7 Oct
Inaugural Cannes-Malta Race Preview
A reference time to establish and a legend to write Her name is Charlotte Rousselot and she is competing in the first edition of the Cannes-Malta Race from 8 to 15 October, a new offshore race co-organised by the Yacht Club de Cannes and the Royal Malta Yacht Club, which have decided to join forces.
Posted on 7 Oct