The sailing event at the Olympic Games is like no other sport because only one participant is chosen from each country, meaning only the star sailors compete. Veronica Stivala speaks to three Maltese sailors who participated at the Olympics.

Jean-Paul Fleri-Soler
Sailboard
• Los Angeles, 1984 • Seoul, 1988 • Barcelona, 1992

Jean-Paul Fleri-Soler has represented Malta at the Olympic Games three times.

The Olympic Games leave an impact on you forever.

His first time was at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles – he was a sparring partner, which is a form of reserve. He was only there for a few days but was impressed with the high level of expertise he witnessed. That year was a landmark year as it was the first time windsurfing formed part of the games.

Contrary to other sports, there is only one participant from each country in the sailing category so it is only the very best who get chosen to take part – naturally, it is a great honour to be chosen.

Jean-Paul recalls the excitement of being at all three Olympic games.

“It’s quite something to actually meet the people you’ve heard about, to sit next to them at meal times, and to line up with them as you rig your sails and then go out onto the water together. The Olympic Games leave an impact on you forever.”

Standing out prominently in his memories of the 1988 Olympics in South Korea are the difficult weather conditions he had to face. Sailing the Indian Ocean was a completely different kettle of fish to anything he had ever experienced before.

“We had to sail out five miles from the landing area in order to get to the sailing area. There were also large fish and seeing such huge things passing by made me feel uneasy. I wasn’t expecting these conditions so admittedly it was quite a shock.”

At the Los Angeles Olympics everyone was on an equal footing since it was the first time the sport was introduced and nobody really had proper coaches. However, four years down the line, things changed and Jean-Paul found himself competing with people who had access to much better, professional training. In Malta, resources were limited.

The 1992 Olympics in Barcelona were special for Jean-Paul because whereas in other editions athletes had to travel to get to their competing points, here the campus was on the yachting village. All the athletes were staying in the yachting village. He would roll out of bed, go for breakfast and just cross the road to get to his destination.

“It was fantastic,” muses Jean-Paul.

The drawback in these games was the huge pressure the media placed on making the sailing event more financially viable. In order to allow people to get the best view of the games, the sailors were made to race close to the shore. This meant they had to deal with onshore winds pounding against them. That said, Jean-Paul explains that all sailors say this was one of best Olympics ever, precisely because of the comfort of being on site.

As for this year’s Olympics, from what Jean-Paul has observed, the Spaniards are doing a fantastic job and there appears to be no limit in their investment in training and events. He is also keeping his eye on the British who, because they are familiar with the climate, have the potential to shine.

Andrew Wilson
Sailing
• Atlanta, 1996

A real eye-opener and source of motivation for Andrew Wilson was when the British Olympic team came to Malta to train with the local sailors for 10 days.

The Olympics were an amazing experience that words alone cannot describe.

“I realised that on the water in a small fleet I was as fast as those who usually placed in the top three during day-to-day races. We had raced against them in top events before and never came close. It was now apparent that this was due to lack of experience racing in big fleets and on start lines with 100 other windsurfers.”

The differences between being a professional and the Maltese was therefore highlighted – it was not down to their lack of speed or technique but mainly lack of experience, funding, sponsorship, support through the ranks, and most of all peace of mind that if one was successful enough, he could make a career out of sailing by going into coaching at an older age.

“The Olympics were an amazing experience that words alone cannot describe,” reminisces Andrew.

The multicultural aspect alone of such a global event made the atmosphere electrifying and the level of competition was outstanding. For the majority of the athletes, this was their life and they had been training for that one event or race for four solid years.

The logistics themselves were also astounding – in Atlanta, a whole village was built for the contingents, with each country having its own area. Since Atlanta is landlocked, the sailing venue was Savannah and a floating marina was built for the event. Following a coach ride from the hotel with a police escort, the athletes would be taken to the marina by high-speed catamarans through the marshland rivers – on the journey, athletes frequently spotted a crocodile or two.

The weather itself was crazy – Savannah has 99 per cent humidity and is a microclimate, with thunderstorms and high winds every day at midday and light winds in the morning and evening along with strong sea currents and high and low tides.

Andrew compares the atmosphere among the Maltese contingent to that of one big family. The athletes all knew each other from other competitions abroad they had travelled to together.

“We all helped out each other and made new friends even though everyone was very focused on their own task. I think we all felt very privileged and proud to be representing our country,” notes Andrew.

For this year’s Olympics, because the British teams will be in local waters, Andrew predicts that they will be the ones to beat in most sailing disciplines.

Mario Aquilina
Laser
• Sydney, 2000 • Athens, 2004

Looking back at the year 2000, Mario Aquilina can still clearly remember the feeling when he first entered the Olympic village.

I had a perfect start to the race and sailed brilliantly in third position for the whole race until I lost some ground in the final lap to finish ninth out of 42 countries.

“After years of sailing on the laser sailing dinghy, participating at the Sydney Olympic Games was the reward for so many hours spent on the water. I felt really lucky to be chosen to participate when so many countries had been left out,” recalls Mario.

The Maltese community in Sydney organised social activities in order to raise funds to make Malta’s participation possible. “You could see the people’s support for the Maltese team,” explains Mario. “That made me feel at home.”

The games provided Mario with the chance to sail for three weeks with the best sailors in the world.

“We trained and got to know each other before the competition started. It was special to live with these professionals for some time.”

The best experience was the electrifying opening ceremony with thousands at the Olympic stadium. Placing ninth in one of the races and beating a gold and silver medallist was Mario’s best day ever on the water. He remembers the day down to the smallest detail.

“I had a perfect start to the race and sailed brilliantly in third position for the whole race until I lost some ground in the final lap to finish ninth out of 42 countries. Maltese and Australians had been watching the race on the big screens around the city and made their way to the sailing venue to congratulate me.

“I remember many people surrounding me when I got to the shore with some local TV and radio stations asking me for interviews. I have to admit that being in the front group for 90 per cent of the race made me very nervous, with judges and helicopters surrounding the marks during the race.”

In 2001 Mario took part in the Mediterranean Games followed by a gold medal at the 2003 Games of the Small States of Europe. This gold medal was the highlight of his career.

Mario was particularly pleased to be approached by a member of the International Olympic Committee during a sports awards ceremony to take part in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He looked forward to improving his Sydney results – however the games didn’t go the way he expected and due to lack of resources he couldn’t train as much as he needed to.

After the games, Mario decided to call it a day so as to dedicate more time to his family – he was missing out on his children’s growing up.

Today he coaches the new laser sailors.

“I feel the level of my sailors is quite good and I dream of getting back to the Olympics one day, this time as a coach. Who knows, maybe in a few years, my two kids Lacey or Shaun could live the same experience I did.”