Palma World Cup debut for Nick Rogers and new crew Pom Green
by Lindsey Bell on 5 Apr 2009
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It will be the start of a new era for sailing's double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers when he takes to the water for the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Spain, this week (5-10 April 2009).
After 11 years of sailing with Joe Glanfield, Rogers will compete at the first ever European ISAF Sailing World Cup event with his new crew, Pom Green, who it's confirmed he'll campaign with towards the 2012 Olympics in the 470 class.
Rogers and Glanfield have chosen to call time on their partnership which spanned three Olympic Games. Together they won medals at the Athens and Beijing Olympics as well as World and European Championship honours, and secured them the reputation as one of the world's strongest sailing pairings.
Rogers will continue to campaign full time for Skandia Team GBR in the 470 class with best friend Green, with the pair aiming to add an Olympic gold in 2012 to Rogers' tally of two silvers. Rogers and Green, who won the Youth Worlds title together in 1995, competed for the first time in the 470 class at the Palamos Christmas Race in December, where they finished fourth.
Meanwhile Glanfield will spend the year coaching and working on mentoring programmes within schools, and will make a decision on his Olympic Classes sailing towards the end of 2009.
Says Rogers of their decision: 'Joe and I have enjoyed sailing together immensely and we are really proud of what we have achieved. We now have different ambitions that we want to pursue whole-heartedly and feel it is the right time to move on.
'There are many highlights in the time we have sailed together with the three Olympic Games standing out. We remain very good friends and would very much like to get involved in other sailing projects together in the future.'
Rogers and Green are two of the 59 Skandia Team GBR sailors across nine classes who'll be competing at the Princess Sofia Trophy over the next six days.
Olympic bronze medallists Nick Dempsey and Bryony Shaw will be back in action in the RS:X Men's and Women's events, while Laser sailor Nick Thompson will be looking for back to back World Cup victories following on from his win at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta In January.
Penny and Saskia Clark make their international debut in Palma since joining forces in the 470 women's class after Beijing, while Ed Wright will be another Skandia Team GBR sailor gunning for a second straight World Cup in the Finn fleet. 49er crew John Pink and Rick Peacock picked up a career best silver at the Miami leg of this inaugural World Cup series so will be hoping to go one better in Palma.
The 2008 world bronze medallist Andrea Brewster tops the billing in the Laser Radial fleet, while Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe will compete in the 2.4mR Paralympic class, which is making its debut at the Princess Sofia Trophy.
Racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy runs from Sunday 5 April, with the final medal races scheduled for Friday 10 April.
Skandia Team GBR line-up for the 2009 Princess Sofia Trophy:
Laser
Nick Thompson
Eifion Mon
Robert Godwin
Max Holloway
Dan Belben
Stuart Godwin
Oliver Tweddell
470 Men
Nick Rogers-Pom Green
Luke Patience-Chris Grube
Matt Mee-Max Capener
Jonny Moss-Ben Muskett
James Ellis-Dan Schieber
Ben Saxton-David Kohler
James Rusden-Rob Partridge
470 Women
Penny Clark-Saskia Clark
Hannah Mills-Katrina Hughes
Sophie Weguelin-Sophie Ainsworth
Finn
Ed Wright
Giles Scott
Andrew Mills
Mark Andrews
RS:X Men
Nick Dempsey
Elliot Carney
Richard Hamilton
RS:X Women
Bryony Shaw
Beth Williamson
Claudia Carney
Izzy Hamilton
Sophie Bailey
Kirsten O'Callaghan
49er
Dave Evans-Simon Hiscocks
Paul Campbell-James-Mark Asquith
John Pink-Rick Peacock
Dylan Fletcher-Alain Sign
Chris Rashley-Matt Gottrel
Andrew Marks-Simon Marks
Laser Radial
Andrea Brewster
Charlotte Dobson
Alison Young
Rosie Chapman
Hannah Diamond
2.4mR
Helena Lucas
Megan Pascoe
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