Starting over

When it came to winning Olympic yachting medals New Zealand’s freefall started in 1996, the tailspin got worse though Sydney, to finally hit rock bottom in Athens. For the first time in 20 years Kiwi yachties won no medals at the Olympic Games.

The 2005 plan for the China Olympics, presented by Yachting New Zealand, was returned from the backers with ‘REJECTED!’ stamped across it in red. New Zealand’s governing sport authority SPARC, where all the funding comes from, was very clear in saying, ‘If you don’t make big changes you won’t see any money for the 2008 Games.’

I was hired by Yachting New Zealand to get things back on track with SPARC, the sailors and the Olympic programme. My experience comes from sailing in four Olympics myself and as head coach for the Danish team in Athens. Often, I wondered why I got myself in this situation – the last thing I needed was more stress... the America’s Cup was doing a good job of providing that.

One thing was clear: more than a few eggs were going to be broken if the Kiwi Olympic programme is going to be turned around. Whenever you set out to make major, some would say radical, changes to a culture that is firmly entrenched you can expect a very rocky road. This one would prove to be no different.

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