TASTE OF OLYMPIC WATERS FOR BRITISH
SAILING TEAM WINDSURFERS AT
73
ENOSHIMA
WORDS AND PICS: RYA
THE BRITISH SAILING TEAM WINDSURFERS
GOT A TASTE OF THE OLYMPIC WATERS OF
TOKYO 2020 AS THE WORLD CUP SERIES
HEADED TO ENOSHIMA, JAPAN, FOR ROUND
ONE OF THE 2019 EDITION FROM 9-16
SEPTEMBER.
Capping off a busy few months that included the 2018
Aarhus World Championships, closely followed by the RS:X
European Championships, the British Sailing Team travelled
east to gain essential insight in to the host nation of the fast-
approaching Olympic Games.
Women’s RS:X coach Barrie Edgington is confident the
former Olympic medallist is on track for success.
“Campaigning around the world and at home, alongside
motherhood, has been a remarkable achievement in itself,”
said Edgington, “but this has been about a paced return to
physical capability whilst also achieving at key regattas.
“Bryony has managed to find a balance and set up for her
son to allow her to achieve some of her best individuals race
performances and although missing some parts of her game
at the world championships, she performed very well at the
end of season test event to show being a mother and
competing at the highest level can be done.”
From acclimatising to the humid conditions to spending
valuable time on the Enoshima waters, the World Cup Series
was a must for GB windsurfers, even after some tough
regattas.
Crucially, the British contingent spent several weeks training
from their base in nearby Hayama to get accustomed to the
local conditions.
Strong winds, big waves and searing temperatures were the
name of the game, with the only interruption being when
Typhoon Jebi hit Japan.
As the only windsurfer in the British Sailing Team with
Olympic experience, Bryony Shaw knows the value of good
results at the Games venue in the years leading up to the
showcase event.
Before becoming the first British female windsurfing Olympic
medallist at Beijing 2008 she won the previous year’s test
event. Ten years on, she remains a powerhouse in the
women’s fleet.
Shaw went into the medal race in second place, but a start-
line error saw her drop to fourth overall.
It was a bittersweet end to the regatta for the 35-year-old,
who only returned to the Olympic circuit this year after giving
birth to her son Jadek in June 2017. “After a great week in
Japan where I gave myself a chance of any colour medal, I
finished in fourth,” Shaw said. “It was a tough end to the
regatta, but I hold my head up high for my achievement.”
Kieran Holmes- Martin
uk
WIND
SURFING