OLYMPIC HOPEFUL - Gold medal is no plain sailing

Northland Olympic medal hopeful, Laser sailor Andrew Murdoch, launches the final chapter of a four-year-long campaign as he leaves for the games venue at Quindao on Wednesday.
No-one has a crystal ball to predict what's going to happen at the Olympic sailing venue at Qingdao next month, but Andrew Murdoch believes the gold medals could well go to the sailors with the most resilient nature.
The Kerikeri-raised New Zealand Laser representative said he is as well prepared as he can be before leaving for China on Wednesday but while confident in his ability, there are too many variables waiting for him and his fellow competitors to feel confident about making predictions.
What he can predict is that the sailing conditions at Qingdao - a venue already made famous by the acres of green algae that organisers have sought to banish in the most Chinese of ways - will make it tough to win gold.
"The conditions mean that not everyone would choose to go sailing there ... but you have to look at it as a challenge, an opportunity to handle it better than everyone else," Murdoch said.
While the algae problem has captured all the headlines it is only one of the challenges that could see the sailing medals go down to the wire. For one, prevailing light winds at Qingdao means crash diets have become part of the competition.
"It's not really a case of the slimmest is going to win because there's a high chance that during the week or so of racing there will be one or two days when the breeze comes in ... and the organisers might bang off three races in a day in those conditions," Murdoch said.
Which is why Murdoch said he hasn't gone over-the-top in the weight-loss area. He's currently at about 78kg - lighter than he was when he left high school - and around 8kgs lighter than his average weight.
Strong currents at the Yellow Sea venue add to its complexity, while picking wind shifts will be key to his medal chances.
"You might be fighting it out in the middle of the fleet and then there's a major wind shift and, if you make some good decisions, you can get up to the front of the fleet and of course the opposite can happen so it's not going to be boring racing," he said.
Murdoch is well prepared in what to expect, he has attended both the preliminary Olympic regattas at Qingdao and is aware of the tactical implications of the venue. "When I go to the venue this time, it'll be business as usual for me," he said.
The 26-year-old has done all he can to prepare for Beijing - even going so far as to purchase the British laser that will be used at the Olympics, for use in competition in the European summer, just to be certain the craft held no surprises.
The series starts on August 12 and he retains a good measure of optimism.
"Realistically I'm a medal hope, my current world ranking is No.2 and I've been ranked in the top five for the last couple of years ... in sailing we don't have the luxury of knowing who's going to win, and this time you can't rule anyone out because of the venue," he said.
Murdoch, who controversially challenged his non-selection for the Athens 2004 Olympics in court, said the sailor, who handled the conditions and the pressure the best would win.
"Being at the Olympics is a challenge in itself, and can melt people down and if I can handle that, plus the conditions there, then I should be all right.
"I've been told that only 20 per cent of athletes perform to their PBs (personal best) at the Olympics and that says a lot," he said.
But he's determined that's not going to be him and has friend and sports psychologist Scott Cresswell on his team in Qingdao to help to keep him focused on the task at hand.
"I'm well aware that things are not going to go perfectly and with yacht racing it's about putting a good series together, one bad race is a setback but it's not the end of the world."
Coach Peter Fox will be the other bloke on his support boat, while father Jim and mother Claire, brother Hamish and his wife Hsueh Lyn and Murdoch's girlfriend Nellie McDowell will all be cheering him on in Qingdao.
But Murdoch isn't too sure how much of his family he'll get to see.
"I've told them to be prepared not to see me until the competition's over but I may see them every day - it will depend on how things go and what I want at the time in terms of support."