OCTOBER 2004 - Finn

Medalists speak out
Just after the dust had setled in Athens, FINNFARE spoke
with Ben and Mateusz about their thoughts immediately
after the Olympics and their plans looking forward.
Mateusz
What are your immediate sailing plans No sailing until beginning
of the next year!
What are your long term sailing plans I’m working on that now.
I’m going to make a decision about my future plans by the end of this
year. I would love to move to professional sailing and join one of the
teams preparing for the America’s Cup or some other big boat project.
It only depends of how happy and satisfied I would be with offers and
further negotiations. The second option is my fourth Olympic Campaign,
this time in the Star Class.
Will we see you in a Finn again and when The last race in the
Olympics in Athens, one of my greatest in career, was also my last
one in the Finn. I achieved my aim: two Olympic medals in the Finn.
After 12 years of sailing in that great boat, I’ve decided to move on
and change class. Now Rafal and Wacek are going to strongly
represent Poland in the Finn Class.
What do you think were the greatest deciding factors in winning
a medal in Athens Being prepared for all-around conditions. Knowing
the wind systems and various sailing schemes helped a lot. Very
strong and very light wind races were hard, and managing to hold the
pace and pressure in those ones helped a lot. And in the end I reckon
the starts in most of the races played a big role on the results in each
race.
What preparation did you do before the regatta I started working
hard in November 2003. I sailed most of the international regattas
until SPA. In the last 2 months before the Games I focused on my
individual training plan, a little in Athens and a lot in Poland where
I’ve sailed a lot with my training partners.
What did you do the week before sailing started I took a break
to refresh myself 10 days prior to departure to Athens with the rest
of Polish Olympic Team. I arrived there 5 days before the regatta and
sailed nearly every day to feel the boat, wind and waves in Athens.
What did you do the week after the Finn sailing finished I had
a lot of fun. Endless parties and celebrations. One day I even finished
up in hospital :)
What did you do on the final lay day I went to watch the tennis
tournament, watch some movies and in the evening have a 1 hour
easy, relaxing swim in the swimming pool.
What was your plan before the final race I had two plans for the
final race. Both considered watching Karlo and Emilios. I knew that
it was going to be very hard to pass Rafa in the final standings. My
goal was to secure my medal. Plan A was prepared for the situation
when in the early stages of the race I would be sailing in front of them;
plan B, if I was behind. I had many options prepared for different
scenarios. I have to say though, that mostly I knew very well what to
do, and that helped me to win a medal and achieve great success.
Your joy at winning the Bronze was there for all to see. How
much more important to you is the four year cycle with the
Olympic medal at the end, than all the countless events and
world championships in between To you, is winning an Olympic
medal the overriding reason that you sail an Olympic class, or
is winning a Gold Cup just as satisfying I wasn’t happy that for
the last 4 years I did not win any Gold Cup. I’ve made this up a little
this year, when I won Europeans and SPA. But only a little. This year
the Olympics were my main goal and winning the medal in Athens is
above all the rest.
Photos: Second right: Ben receives his medal from IOC President Jaques
Rogge. © François Richard. All other photos© Getty Images.
Ben
What are your immediate sailing plans I will be sailing with
Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) in Valencia for acts 2 and 3.
What are your long term sailing plans Long term I am looking to
the next AC as part of ETNZ and I would also like to compete in
Beijing if I have time to be competitive.
Will we see you in a Finn again and when If I go for Beijing it will
be in the Finn but when I sail the boat again depends on how things
go with ETNZ.
What do you think were the greatest deciding factors in winning
a medal in Athens The deciding factors was who dealt with the
pressure best. Thanks to some extra help I made all my mistakes on
the first day and then could only get better.
What preperation did you do immediately before the regatta I
went to Cyprus for three days with the rest of the sailing team and
then trained up until the measurement date.
What did you do the week before sailing started I kept sailing all
the way up to the first race and maybe took two days off in the last
week.
What did you do the week after the Finn sailing finished After
the racing I went to a few partys, watched some athletics and tried
to support the rest of the team that were still racing.
Do you think the lay day before the final race is a good idea or just
frustrating to competitors and observers alike I always think the last
lay day is hard work whatever your situation. If you’re in the medal zone
you’re very nervous and if you’re not doing so well you just want it to end.
What about the current format The current format is okay. I think
one discard worked and I still believe there should still be at least one
discard. It would be good to see some more decent reaching in the
Olympic courses.
Do you plan to be in Beijing and in what class I would like to
race in Beijing in the Finn. I have really enjoyed the last three years
and think the Finn is a great class. A lot depends on how much time
is taken up with ETNZ, that is now my main priority.
What was your plan before the final race – same as usual or to
stay with Rafa I just wanted to stay with Rafa, the conditions were
so light that anything could have happened. I tried not to influence
what happened between Rafa and Mateusz but it was hard not to
have an effect.
Are you going to defend your World Title in Moscow It would be
intereting to go to Moscow. Who knows, maybe I can persuade Dean
and Kevin that it’s a good idea!