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We are going to the Olympics!
Well I was going to write a blog entitled, “We are going to the Olympics” and then… everything changed.
Laser2020 seems a long time ago and so much has changed since then. With the 2020 Radial World Championships being the final event in the qualification we did the best possible preparation. Indeed Sandringham Yacht Club feels very much like home and I do miss it. James Mitchell and his team did an amazing job and I also need to say a special thanks to Ajay and Hannah who looked after our stuff over the Christmas holidays. You can see many interviews from all these events (Standard Worlds, Radial Worlds and Masters Oceanic Championships) on the Jonemmettsailing youtube channel.
Sailing under pressure can make it harder to perform at your best but we did what was needed to be done. I actually received the call that Tuula had secured her place for the Olympics from the Team leader on my way home from loading the container. Luckily, I didn’t fall off my bike! I then flew home from some productive meetings at the RYA Dinghy Show and to compete in the Weymouth Qualifier which was a pretty windy event, especially for someone whose body clock is not quite fully adjusted. Then it was straight back to Australia.
This time I travelled to the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, the other side of Geelong, and started my preparation for the Masters Worlds. I won the Oceanic Masters (although technically I was the only person in my category Apprentice Masters – but we raced with the Masters fleet). However, with the Covid-19 pandemic now I changed my flight and flew home the next day.
Jon Emmett has over 20 years of coaching experience from grass roots to Olympic Gold.