Out of Sight But Not Out Of Medal Contention

Our Beijing Olympic yachties may not be household names, but did you know they’re likely to be hot contributors to Australia’s medal tally? Definitely worth watching.

Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page are five-time world champions in the 470 class.

Editorial Review

It may not be on TV a lot, but Australia has had a bit of success in sailing over the years.

Two of the memorable gold medals of the 2000 Games went to the men's and women's 470 crews, making themselves right at home on the iconic Sydney Harbour.

In Beijing - or Qingdao, 690 kilometres away, to be more accurate - Australia is represented by a slew of world champions and current world number ones.

In fact sailing and rowing will most likely vie for the title of our second-most-successful sport at these Olympics, behind swimming.

Glenn Ashby is a 10-time world champion, and he and skipper Darren Bundock (a Sydney silver medallist) have won seven Tornado class titles in a row, while our 470 crew - Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page - are five-time world champions, the past three in this particular class.

Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin are also the current world champions in their class, the 49ers, as is Tom Slingsby in the Laser class.

Sarah Blanck, fourth in Athens in the Europe class after winning the 2002 world championship, is also highly fancied in the Laser Radial event she is sailing at Qingdao.

The Yngling crew of Krystal Weir, Angela Farrell and Karyn Gojnich finished second at this year's worlds after having been together for only a few weeks.

The women's 470 pairing, Elise Rechichi ad Tessa Parkinson, have finished third at the past two world championships but won the test event at Qingdao last year and believe their light weight gives them an advantage in the lighter winds at the Olympic venue.

Jessica Crisp, a world champion at 16 (more than 20 years ago!) is still a contender in the sailboarding, which has changed design since Athens, where she was sixth (fifth in Sydney).

So while you might not have heard of them before, the yachties have been proudly flying the Aussie flag between Olympics and, with a little luck, will continue to do so in Beijing.

Murray Brust in Beijing for Citysearch

View Citysearch's TV guide for details of Olympic Games coverage.