The Star Class Olympic Fleet
July 29, 2008 by Trim Sailing | 0 comments
The Star made its Olympic debut in 1932 in Los Angeles. Originally scheduled as an exhibition, a sort of unofficial test of popularity, the Stars were eventually included as one of the regular classes on the 1932 Olympic program and their sailors stole the show.
The Star made its Olympic debut in 1932 in Los Angeles. Originally scheduled as an exhibition, a sort of unofficial test of popularity, the Stars were eventually included as one of the regular classes on the 1932 Olympic program and their sailors stole the show. Three out of the four yachting events were won by Star skippers. Aside from the Star series (won by Gilbert Grey of New Orleans with Andrew Labino as crew), Frenchman Jacques Le Brun won the little single-handed one-design (Monotype) crown and Owen Churchill, of the USA, won the Eight Metres at the helm of Babe.
Seventy six years later, 16 teams will be competing in Stars at the 2008 Olympics at Qingdao, China. At the 2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships in Cascais, Portugal, teams representing Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the USA qualified for Qingdao. As the Olympic host country, China automatically got a berth.
The results of the 2008 Star World Championships determined the final four teams for the Olympic berths: Austria, Croatia, Ireland and Switzerland were added.
Following is a brief overview of the Star sailors who will be competing in Qingdao. They are the stars of Olympic sailing, with Olympic medals and championship titles in many classes including the Star, Finn and Laser. Many of them have participated in America’s Cups and are on team rosters for upcoming America’s Cup challenges.
The reigning Star World Champion skipper Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) was the 1999 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year for his spectacular performance in the Finn. The 2007 Star World Champion skipper, Robert Scheidt (BRA), was the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year in 2001 and 2004 for his exceptional performance in the Laser. This year Robert Scheidt is honored to be the Olympic flag bearer for Brazil at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing on August 8, 2008.
By Melinda Berge
starclass.org
