News

July 19, 2008

The Chinese beach town of Qingdao has giant algae blooms clogging its coastline, dense fog, sweltering summer heat and piles of trash that flow in with the strong currents. But it’s what the town lacks that makes it an especially difficult venue for Olympic sailing: wind.

According to US Sailing weather forecasters, there’s a 90% chance of “light air” for the event. The Chinese have added extra “reserve days” to the event’s time window, in case the wind is so mild that they can’t hold the race at all. There’s a good chance the boats in Qingdao (pronounced ching-dow). will be moving very, very slowly during the races—or be stopped completely, which happened in an informal training race there.

What does all this mean for sailors on the U.S. Olympic team? A strict diet. Lighter sailors fare better in conditions where there is barely enough wind to propel the boats. In such cases, every tiny reduction of drag helps, and that includes extra body fat. “A lot of people are referring to their Qingdao weight,” says team spokeswoman Derby Anderson.

That includes Andrew Campbell, a 24-year-old racing in the Laser class. He’s shed 10 pounds for the event, and is now a lean 175—lighter than he’s ever been for sailing. Many of his Olympic teammates have shed even more, he says. “A lot of the guys look pretty emaciated.”

John Lovell, a silver medalist in the Tornado event in the 2004 Athens Olympics, has gotten within five pounds of his target weight of 160 - which is 20 pounds lighter than his usual 180 - by cutting out fried foods and beer and running every day. “I’m basically losing as much as I can,” he says.

Nobody is under more pressure than Jennifer Lilly, the team’s meteorologist. She’s been studying the weather in Qingdao for nearly four years. In most sailing venues, there’s a range of wind, say from 12 to 17 knots. But in Qingdao, the forecast comes in extremes. In most cases, there’s hardly any breeze in August. But if there is a typhoon in the Yellow Sea, it could send winds of 20 knots flying through the Olympic course. “Light winds are very hard to forecast and we didn’t have much data to start with,” says Ms. Lilly.

Two years ago, the British team used its own weather stations to monitor the conditions in the area, but the Chinese government objected. Other teams then had to wait for the Chinese to install their own—some of which were only put in last year, Ms. Lilly says. When she asked the U.S. Navy for data on the current, Ms. Lilly says all they were able to give her was information already available to the public. “They probably knew more than they were letting on,” she says.

Compounding the already difficult conditions, and making weight even more of a factor, are the strong currents, which can reach more than two knots. In low wind, the currents are so strong they can actually push boats backwards. Add to that the hot, humid conditions, and sailors could be spending some long, uncomfortable hours on their boats.

Olympic sailors say that in such situations, the race could come down to dumb luck. “Because it’s so light, a little gust of wind can just blow one person ahead of another,” says Ms. Anderson. Even a nearby helicopter could push enough wind to give one team an advantage over another, she says. Or, the positioning of the buildings on shore could funnel wind toward one team, and not another.

“You gotta have a little luck,” says Austin Sperry, who’s been thinning down to race in the Star class, whose larger boats normally favor heavy riders. Mr. Sperry says he is less worried about the low wind than the heat. Getting too thin, and then being dehydrated during a race, “you start thinking stupid,” he says.

There’s always that 10% chance the winds won’t be light at all. That would favor heavier sailors, and put the ones who lost too much weight at a disadvantage. Sarah Mergenthaler and Amanda Clark are looking to shave off a modest 10 pounds between them. They said they might benefit by losing more, but won’t go overboard. “You’re not going to be sailing at your best if you’re starving yourself,” says Ms. Mergenthaler.

Team nutritionist Lisa Dorfman not only has to figure out how to help sailors trim weight while retaining their strength, she has to find ways to keep them from getting sick in China. During visits, many of the sailors got sick. So to keep them away from “risky” food, Ms. Dorfman recently scouted the area for passable supermarkets and restaurants. She’s suggesting they stock up on energy bars and eat the packaged chicken that’s being provided to U.S. athletes by Tyson. “You have to have fit guts going over there,” Ms. Dorfman says.

When Mr. Sperry goes back to Qingdao to compete, he plans to eat nearly every dinner at Da Vinci, an Italian restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel. “I’m just being ultraconservative,” he says.

By Reed Alberghotti
Wall Street Journal