Yachting: Davis appointed YNZ's olympic director

Rod Davis. Herald file picture

Yachting New Zealand (YNZ) has appointed Olympic Games veteran sailor Rod Davis at its Olympic director.

His appointment has been announced alongside those of Australian Martin Watson as YNZ's high performance and youth director and Richard Brown as national programmes director.

All three are due to start their roles this month.

YNZ chief executive Des Brennan said the appointments brought greater intensity, broader experience and more accountability to YNZ.

Davis will head a three-year programme leading up to the 2008 Olympics with the primary goal of achieving medals for New Zealand in Beijing.

Davis' Olympic experience spans more than 20 years, sailing for the United States and New Zealand, and most recently as head coach for Denmark.

"My Olympic campaigns and results are defined by the philosophy behind them -- focused, disciplined and results orientated," Davis said.

Davis won a gold medal for the US in Los Angeles in 1984, silver for New Zealand in Barcelona in 1992, and finished fifth at both Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.

In 2002 he was hired to coach Denmark's Olympic sailing coaches, and then promoted to head coach of the Danish team in 2004.

Davis has made his mark in the America's Cup, being head coach of Italian syndicate Prada when they reached the finals of the Louis Vuitton Challenger series in 2000.

He now fills a similar role with Team New Zealand, a job he will retain while plotting YNZ's Olympic campaign.

Watson, 32, has spent the last year coaching elite and advanced level athletes, national teams and state-based development squads in Australia. He had previously been with the Australian Institute of Sport.

Brown joined YNZ three years ago as programme support services co-ordinator.

- NZPA