David Leggat: Yachting management's gripes right off course

COMMENT

New Zealand has a proud tradition in sailing.

Team New Zealand did what once seemed unthinkable and brought the most famous trophy in the sport, the America's Cup, home, then defended it five years later.

In 1956 Peter Mander and Jack Cropp won the Sharpie class gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics.

Since then, the total has risen to 15 - six gold, four silver and five bronze - and only athletics, with 18, can top that.

Not since 1976 has New Zealand failed to win at least one medal at an Olympics. Until now.

Collectively, New Zealand's sailors were disappointing.

The best, statistically, were board sailor Barbara Kendall, who finished fifth, Laser representative Hamish Pepper and the Yngling team of Sharon Ferris, Kylie Jameson and Joanna White, who were both 7th, and Sarah Macky in the Europe class who was 8th.

Mixed in were some shockers, such as the 470 men, who finished 26th in the 27-strong fleet; the women's 470, Shelley Hesson and Linda Dickson, 15th out of 18; and even Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker's 13th out of 25 was a poor return.

Sport is about small margins, results swinging on hairs' breadths.

Here's one: If Kendall had not been ahead of the line at the start of one of her two disqualifications, she would have won a medal for a fourth successive Olympics. But she was and that's the end of it.

Now, there are times when it's best to take your medicine, do a debrief and move on.

What you don't do is exactly what the sailing squad did this week and look for excuses. Yachting manager Don Cowie described the regatta as "messily run" with "an unfair and inflexible format".

"The whole regatta's been difficult at times. We don't want to sound like sour grapes but we've had some problems with the race management here."

Really? And how were New Zealand disadvantaged compared with the rest of the fleet?

How did having races begin earlier than the ideal time in New Zealand's eyes hurt only New Zealand?

How did having races shortened affect only New Zealand?

Where are the gripes from the other nations?

If they have them, they've wisely kept their own counsel. Best to shout your complaints from a position of strength.

Sure, some of the racing has been affected by the shifting Meltemi winds on the Mediterranean.

But that's part of the deal. If the New Zealand contingent arrived preparing to tootle around as if they were off Takapuna beach then they should not have come to Athens.

Did they not spend a couple of months in Europe preparing for the regatta? Were lessons not absorbed in that time?

The Olympics are all about being tested, finding out who has what it takes to cope with demanding, unfamiliar territory.

The one point Cowie, a silver medallist with Rod Davis in the Star class at Barcelona 12 years ago, is bang on about is the staggered medal ceremonies.

Having all classes receive their gongs on one night is a perfect finale. Here, the Greeks got it wrong.

But elsewhere there can be no complaints. Of the eight classes in which New Zealand were represented, titles went to seven countries, which shows the spread of sailing talent is gaining momentum.

And if New Zealand wants to retain a pre-eminent position in Olympic sailing it needs to do some hard thinking.

On the bare face of it, a clutch of results from five to 10 is far from shabby. It's just that New Zealand expects more from its sailors.