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“Did you enjoy the Olympic atmosphere”, has been a frequently asked question since I came home from Qingdao. Well, I certainly did. What an amazing experience. Not only the biggest sports event on earth, but also China made it a very special trip. In terms of cultural thinking it is not common to use the expression ‘strange’, so let’s put it this way…China is a ‘different’ country.

My Olympic job could not have started more interesting. Two weeks before the opening ceremony in China, we released the news about the revolutionary Tornado Code Zero for the prevailing light conditions in Qingdao. Team Zwitserleven Booth/Nieuwenhuis, the Americans Lovell/Ogletree, the Puerto Ricans Figueroa/Hernandez and the coaches Jay Glaser and Andreas Hagara worked on it in secrecy. The flatter and smaller gennaker is designed for sailing upwind courses up to 11 knots of breeze. In case of the ‘typical’ sailing circumstances in Qingdao, the light wind would come from the southeast and the fleet would have to beat up against the current. As a result, the Americans and Dutchmen could use the Code Zero relatively longer upwind than downwind. That is why the advantage of the beat would be bigger than the disadvantage on the run.

Big issue
By the end of July, I talked to Mitch Booth after their first training session among other competitors on the Yellow Sea. He said: ”This afternoon, we were able to show its potential for the first time.” After several days of unusual strong winds, that day the conditions were perfect for the new sail, 5-10 knots with plenty of chop and current. Mitch Booth commented: “We sailed laps around the other five boats that joined us on the water and I think they will be scratching their heads tonight. We are fully stretched on the wire in 5-7 knots of breeze, while the other crews are still sitting on the hull.” Especially this last remark caused worldwide attention. Some reactions were positive and some were negative. A few teams on the spot started to design their own Code Zero. The twofold Olympic Champions Hagara and Steinacher threatened with a boycott of the Games, if the Code Zero was allowed by the class measures. In their opinion, it would no longer be an one design class. But all crews had their own sail development programs, so what is the definition of ‘one design’? Maybe the class association missed some exits. Meanwhile, it became a bigger and bigger issue. I informed the international press in the media center, who seemed to enjoy the unfolding story, on a daily base. By the time the Code Zero was authorized by the measures, the forecast was not very favourable anymore.

According to Team Zwitserleven, the decision to use it was always a weather depending call. Therefore, they measured in a small and conventional gennaker. The Americans went for two Code Zero’s, so they had no choice left. The evening before the start of the Tornado regatta, Booth and Nieuwenhuis had to make the difficult decision to leave the Code Zero in the bag. It turned out to be the wrong gamble for the Americans, who finished last. The conditions were mostly too windy, so their loss was too big. The results of Booth and Nieuwenhuis went up and down, but they could still win a bronze medal going into the windy Medal Race. Despite their third position in this spectacular final match, they finished fifth overall. I think this is a good result, considering the challenging and variable sailing conditions. The Spanish Echavarri and Paz sailed an impressive series and deserved to win. The Aussies Bundock and Ashby took silver, followed by the Argentineans Lange/Espinola. Hopefully it was not the last appearance of the multihulls on Olympic level. They deserve to stay in.

Special moments
Looking back on my first Olympic Games, I must admit that I have experienced many special moments. Too many to recall them all, but I will mention a few. First of all, it was a huge pleasure to work with my media colleagues Peter van der Meeren (Leeuwarder Courant and GPD), Eric van Staten (Telegraaf), Ernst Steinmeier (Zeilen), Remmelt Staal (photographer), Simon Keijzer (spokesperson NOC*NSF) and Ayolt Kloosterboer (Studio Sport). I will remember our ‘seasar salad’, ‘thank you for your colpolation’, watching the opening ceremony together, the constant creation of head lines and jokes, the special songs they wrote, our battle against the Chinese photographer who regularly produced a big white phlegm with a lot of noise and whatsoever. The two silver medals of the Dutch Yngling and 470 girls were big moments as well and of course shaking hands with our Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima. And then that local driver of the media boat. We had to speed up to be in time for the gate rounding of the 470 women. We were doing well, but all of a sudden we stopped. We looked at our driver and he asked us to turn away our heads. He had to pee! By the time he was relieved, the fleet was already heading for the upwind mark. Well, what can you say.

All my daily reports (Dutch) can still be read on http://www.catsanddinghies.nl/. For my articles and pictures of Team Zwitserleven, please go to http://www.teamzwitserleven.nl/.

Thank you Zwitserleven for giving me the opportunity to work on location. It has been a wonderful, instructive and interesting time.