Boardsailing: Pair battle for single spot

Tom Ashley is aiming to beat Jon-Paul Tobin to the solitary Olympic boardsailing spot. Photo / Greg Bowker

Arguably New Zealand's greatest rivalry for a solitary spot at next year's Olympic Games starts in less than a fortnight. Like the Mahe Drysdale-Rob Waddell single sculls rowing drama of 2008, the boardsailing contest between Tom Ashley (27) and Jon-Paul Tobin (34) at the sailing world championships from December 3 off Fremantle will decide which athlete goes to London.

Unlike Waddell, who found his way into another crew, the boardsailing loser will be discarded.

Ashley and Tobin are contenders for an Olympic gold medal but under the qualification rules only one athlete per country can contest the class. Ashley is the defending Olympic champion but Tobin is the form athlete this year; he is also fuelled with ambition, having been in and out of Ashley's shadow during the last two Games cycles.

The qualification criteria laid down by Yachting New Zealand is confidential but a decision is understood to be at the discretion of the three-person selection panel. They will largely base the call around three events: the Sail for Gold regatta at the Olympic course off Weymouth in June, the pre-Olympic regatta at the same venue in August and the world championships next month.

Tobin finished second to Ashley's ninth at Sail for Gold, earning him a place at the Olympic test event. If Tobin is the winner between the two in Perth he should secure the London nod regardless of Ashley's pedigree. If Ashley beats Tobin, the decision is likely to go in the defending champion's favour and Tobin - a former world No 1 - will face the cruel reality of a successful career devoid of a Games.

Both say their intention is to race the fleet not the man when they square off at the world championships. They are civil but not close off the water, a circumstance Tobin says is driven by rivalry.

"I have a healthy respect for Tom. He's an amazing athlete, a focused individual, but I've also got a good training environment with [New Zealand bronze medallist from Sydney] Aaron McIntosh and Dutchman Dorian van Rijsselberge [who won the pre-Olympic regatta].

"Tom and I are different animals in how we approach things. We operate in different circles to get our results. It's a great battle but we're not alone in New Zealand boardsailing history."

McIntosh was a rival, friend and Bucklands Beach Yacht Club clubmate to former Olympic gold medallist Bruce Kendall. He eventually defeated Kendall to earn a place at the Games in 1996 and 2000. McIntosh says his situation with Kendall was different to Ashley and Tobin: "We trained together so we could be the best two in the world; if we didn't we would probably have been around eighth and ninth. We forged a friendship based around our competition whereas Jon-Paul and Tom run separate programmes.

"They respect each other's ability but understand they have to beat each other to get to the Games. Being windsurfers from New Zealand doesn't create a natural inclination to hang out. The last thing you want to do is let a guy in to know how you tick. Both are feared by their rivals. They need to keep an eye on each other [at the world championships] but the most important thing is to get on the podium. If they start racing each other they might struggle to make the top 10."

Like Tobin, Ashley also has international training partners. He is working in Perth with the likes of Israeli Shahar Zubari (the Beijing bronze medallist), German Toni Wilhelm and fellow New Zealander Antonio Cozzolino.

Ashley had second and fourth places in lead-up events but got sick and succumbed to Tobin at Sail for Gold. He had also started wear away cartilage from a hip joint and had surgery back home in June.

"It was painful and I found it difficult to sleep. Within a couple of weeks of the surgery, I was pain-free. I'm not allowed to run on it but that's not part of my training anyway."

There is no less intensity about Tobin's approach after winning the Sail Melbourne regatta last week: "The upcoming Olympic venue makes it a different game compared to 2008 off the coast of Qingdao [in China]. Weymouth is windier and more suited to what Kiwis strike at home. I feel at home having spent around 100 days there this year. "