Finn fight looming on Port Phillip
by ISAF 23 Nov 2014 07:45 GMT
7-14 December 2014
Oliver Tweddell at the SAF Sailing World Cup 2013 © Jeff Crow / Sport the Library
Two English born Finn sailors, once coach and student, will draw swords at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in December on Port Phillip. Both are gunning for national team selection and a chance to represent their country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Ed Wright sailing for Great Britain and Oli Tweddell representing Australia, where he's lived for the past decade.
Tweddell, currently ranked the eighth Finn sailor in the world on the International Sailing Federation's ladder, has clashed with his former Laser teacher and mentor in the same class for the past five years. He was coached by Wright as a kid and bought Wright's Laser when he moved off into the Finn class in 2005.
Wright is a savvy veteran and considered the benchmark of physical fitness among the Finn fraternity. Career highlights include taking out European and world championships and gold at the 2010 ISAF World Cup Series. All up he has earned 32 world, European & ISAF Grade1 medals.
The last time Wright was in Australia in 2011 in Perth for the ISAF worlds. On his looming return he says, "I am excited to represent Team GBR and to come and train with the Australian Finn guys while taking part in the Sailing World Cup Melbourne. In my winter I like training down under as the gyms are well equipped, there's lots of knowledge and the wind and sailing conditions are some of the best in the world for racing."
Tweddell is a 24 year-old former world number one Finn sailor with a flourishing swag of his own; four silver medals from ISAF International grade 1 events and a bronze from the U21 Finn Worlds in 2010, the same year he collected the under 21 Australian Finn national champion crown. For the past three world cups in Melbourne Tweddell has finished a silver medallist.
Tweddell invited Wright to fly on from the ISAF Sailing World Cup final in Abu Dhabi to Melbourne and escape the cold Dorset winter. He's putting Wright up at his home and lending him a boat. "I hope bringing him over here is not going to get me another silver medal," he says wryly. Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), host of the Yachting Victoria event is Tweddell's home club and he knows they are looking forward to the gold.
Tweddell reckons he had at least seven international Finn sailors get in touch regarding Yachting Victoria's world cup event scheduled for December 7-14, 2014. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he didn't have enough boats, or bedrooms.
As a newly appointed ambassador for the ISAF World Cup – Melbourne, Tweddell is keen to work with organisers to make it as simple as possible for Northern Hemisphere competitors to cover the vast distance. "Australia is one of the best places to sail in the world and we have a powerful record that brings others to test themselves against our best. Making it easy to get international sailors to these southern ISAF graded events is really important to the overall standard of competition."
Wright might have the years on Tweddell and others in the Finn fleet, but his awesome fitness and technique combined with competition experience make him a dominant athlete. He's known for subjecting himself to rigorous and dynamic workout routines that focus on maximising mobility, strength, power and endurance.
"I've tried to emulate Ed's physical standard for the Finn," Tweddell admits. "He's always put in max effort and I respect his approach and his resilience. He's been on the top of the game for an extended period. He's a pretty hard core dude."
Wright repays the compliment, "Oli seems to have a good work ethic, like mine. Minimal time wasted each day."
Tweddell first started worked as a tradie and took on lots of coaching jobs to finance a couple of months competing in Europe. He bulked up and racked up the results to quality for support from the government via the Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and Victorian Sport's Institute plus his local clubs, SYC and Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, have backed the aspiring Olympian. "It all goes to feeding the goal of going to the Olympic Games and winning a gold medal," Tweddell says.
He's right up there but he isn't Australia's current top ranked Finn sailor. That honour lies with fellow ASS member Jake Lilley who's third in the world and qualified Australia for its place in the Finn class at Rio thanks to his result at the ISAF Sailing World Championship at Santander, Spain, in September.
The Finn made its first appearance at the Olympic Games back in 1952. In the last 10 years the class was dominated by Great Britain's Sir Ben Ainslie, a three-time Olympic gold medallist in what is commonly acknowledged as the hardest and most physical class sailing at the Games. Some say the Finn medal race at Weymouth in 2012 was the most watched race in Olympic sailing history as Ainslie secured his third and final gold medal in the class then retired to focus on his next challenge, the America's Cup.
At the ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne the single crewed Finns will complete a 10 race program over five days, December 9-13 finishing with the final medal race on Sunday the 14th.
Entries for the premier annual event for Olympic class sailing in the Southern Hemisphere close at midnight on December 2, 2014.
www.sailingworldcupmelbourne.com