July 8, 2022
1 minute reading time
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition features 380 athletes from 66 nations, in 274 boats racing across ten Olympic disciplines. Racing runs from Monday 8 August through to Thursday 18 August 2016 with 217 male and 163 female sailors racing out of Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sailing made its Olympic debut in 1900 and has been a mainstay at every Olympic Games since 1908. For more information or requests please contact Daniel Smith at World Sailing on marketing@sailing.org or phone +44 (0) 7771 542 131.
Olympic Champion excited for sailors coming to The Hague
Co-tournament director of the Allianz Youth Sailing World Championships is Dorian van Rijsselberghe, who won Olympic gold on the RS:X windsurfing board at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Van Rijsselberghe looks back at his own participation in the Youth Worlds with great fondness. “What applied to me, and I think to many participants in this tournament, was that at the Youth Sailing World Championships you were introduced to the best sailors from other countries for the first time. You are naturally very curious about how good your peers from other countries are. To be able to sail against them and to see who is really the best, that is what I really liked.”
Even for a serial winner like the double Olympic Champion, fun comes first and foremost when taking part in high-level competition. “For both the participants and the spectators: enjoy it! This is a wonderful experience with lasting memories. But if I have to highlight something: it is fascinating to see what happens on the beach and in the harbour before the future champions join the battle on the water.”
Van Rijsselberghe believes this will be a regatta to remember. His measure of success? “When everyone goes home full of excitement. The tournament is a success for me if the kids gain new and unforgettable experiences, make friends and will proudly tell those stories for a long time to come.”
by Andy Rice, event reporter for World Sailing.