28 September 2005

Laser legend Robert SCHEIDT (BRA) signed off from the class by winning his eighth Laser World Championship with a performance of utter domination on his home waters in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Nobody was able to even come close as the Brazilian master swept all before him on his way to a record-breaking eighth Laser World title, his 102nd sailing title in the class.

Designed by Canadian Bruce KIRBY in 1969, the Laser has become the most popular Olympic Class ever, with almost 1,000 sailors on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings coming from nations covering the full spectrum of the sailing world. Being strictly one-design, easy to transport or readily available to rent and great fun to sail it is hardly surprising that the Laser has attained such worldwide popularity. What is remarkable is that within the most diverse and wide-reaching of the Olympic Classes, one man has been able to reach such a dominant position.

SCHEIDT’s path to the top of the sailing world began in 1986 when he was picked to represent Brazil at the Optimist Worlds – a decision which convinced him that sailing was his future and it was time to leave tennis behind. At the 1991 ISAF Youth Worlds in Largs, he first posted notice of his uncanny ability in the Laser by winning ten of the eleven races to take the title. In 1992 the Laser was selected as equipment for the 1996 Olympic Games and from that moment on SCHEIDT has never looked back.

He won his first Laser World title in Tenerife in 1995 and then the next two, and also the 1996 Olympic title. Ben AINSLIE (GBR) provided a dramatic halt to his winning run by taking the 1999 World title and getting the better of SCHEIDT in an incredibly close finish to the 2000 Olympic Games. Sandwiched between AINSLIE’s wins, SCHEIDT picked up his fourth World title in Mexico, and then a fifth and a sixth in 2001 and 2002.

He lost to a final race decided to Gustavo LIMA (POR) at the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships, but bounced back to win the 2004 Worlds in Turkey and his second Olympic gold medal in Athens.

SCHEIDT lined up at the 2005 Laser World Championship on his home waters of Fortaleza, Brazil, knowing it would be his last major event in the class for some time. Following on from his victory in Athens he had decided to campaign a two person Star for the Beijing Olympic Games, and whilst he was not abandoning the Laser altogether, his main focus would move to the keelboat.

So whilst Fortaleza may not be the final chapter in the SCHEIDT Laser story, the events of the 2005 World Championship would provide a fitting finale for any sailing career.

136 sailors from 37 nations lined up in Brazil with near-perfect sailing conditions throughout the week of racing. SCHEIDT actually got off to a slow start, getting away poorly in the opening race and making some poor choices out on the course to finish 17th. From that moment on though, SCHEIDT was untouchable. He made up for another bad start by sailing through the leaders to collect a second place in the second race of day one before he closed out the qualifying series with a run of four bullets, a second place and another win.

The Brazilian took a 14 point lead into the final series and from there on continued to extend his lead. He showed both sides of his talent in races 9 and 10, catching the crucial wave to win a very tight finish in the first and then leading all the way round to win the next by such a margin that some of the spectators thought he had retired when he returned to shore all alone.

SCHEIDT now had seven bullets from ten races and it soon became nine from 14, with SCHEIDT winning a record-breaking eighth Laser World title in emphatic style.

Where Are They Now

Robert SCHEIDT has switched to the Star class, and is now amongst the leading challengers for gold in Beijing with new crew Bruno PRADA. He will return to the Laser to attempt to win his fourth title at this year’s Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro.

ISAF In 2005

After much debate and discussion around the meeting rooms at the 2005 ISAF Annual Conference, the Medal Race format for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition was introduced.