Kiwi sailors disappointed by lack of medals

Hamish Pepper and Craig Williams wound up an unsatisfying campaign in the Star class by finishing ninth overall at the Olympic sailing regatta.

The struggled the whole regatta and manager Russell Green said the duo simply weren't fast enough in downwind conditions.

"They didn't sail to their potential and they are disappointed," Green said.

Green said the entire campaign, despite Tom Ashley's gold medal, came up fractionally short of expectations.

"The programme and preparation were a step up from Athens but there was some disappointment we didn't get two medals."

He said variable and unreliable wind conditions did not suit Kiwi sailors. "A lot of crews didn't quite their chances but it was a random place to sail."

Green thought London in 2012 would be more like New Zealand conditions and had a personal view that Yachting New Zealand should follow the example set by cycling and triathlon and think about establishing a European base ahead of the next Olympics.

The other critical factor was talent identification. "Barbara Kendall has kept going year after year because there's no-one coming through to challenge her."

He said sailing also needed to be smarter with its limited funding in order to compete with the big budget teams from Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Australia.

"It's not a matter of just getting more funding, it's about being clever with it. This time we were smart and used our limited resources well but we didn't quite reach our potential."

- © Fairfax NZ News