It’s now just two weeks until the Olympic Games in Beijing begin, and I’m back out in Qingdao, the sailing venue, making my final preparations for the big event. I had a good flight out and today was my first day back on the water. It’s been quite windy over the last few days here, which is very rare for Qingdao at this time of the year, the wind is usually really light, but it’s been good to train in something a bit different, so that I am ready for anything come the Olympic regatta.
Today I was out with the Hong Kong team, the Chinese team, some of the Greek guys, and a handful of other girls. It was good, and I felt on form. It was a valuable opportunity to see the Chinese sailors out sailing on their home waters, and I didn’t feel that they were any better than us, which is really reassuring. The weed that the sailing area was plagued with when I was here a couple of weeks ago has now cleared, though there are quite a lot of jellyfish around! The temperature is much cooler than I expected, it’s mild but not super hot, with a bit of fog. All my kit is sorted, and I’ve got my new bikini and board shorts which I’ll be wearing whilst I’m racing. I’ve been working with Fat Face to develop a tailor-made range which suits me and my style of sailing, and Fat Face are actually going to have the pieces I have designed for sale in their shops in the autumn!
My physical preparation is all going well. Ideally I would like to lose a tiny bit more weight over the next ten days, which will be my final dip before the Olympic regatta and then I’ll be exactly where I want to be for the competition. We are all living in the same hotel that we always do out here, which is good because I feel settled there now, which was my aim. About a third of the Skandia Team GBR sailors are out here now, with the others flying out next week. There’s a good atmosphere amongst the team and a great set up, I am glad to be away from the main Olympic village for now, as I think it will be pretty hectic, with all of the sailors from all of the other nations based there. It’s good to be a part of it all, but also to be able to escape to a little place of calm when you need to.
At the beginning of August I will fly to Shanghai, along with the rest of the British sailors, for a holding camp. This will be a chance to have a few days break, away from the sailing venue, which has proved in the past to be very beneficial mentally, as you get away from it all and can’t fiddle around with all of your kit. I will also be going to the Opening Ceremony on the 8th August, which will mean taking an hour’s flight from Qingdao to Beijing, where the main athletic events are taking place. I am really excited about going, as I just know that I will thrive on the energy of the event, and it will get me really revved up and excited. Not everyone in the sailing team will go to the ceremony, as some of the classes begin racing the next day and it’s too far to go, but a group of us plan to.
This will be my first Olympic Games and I feel really ready for it all to begin. My first race is on Monday 11th August, and I can’t wait.
Bryony Shaw is writing for the Dorset Echo in the build-up to this summer's Olympics. She is a member of Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team competing in the Olympic and Paralympic classes. Follow Bryony's progress at www.skandiateamgbr.com
I’m back in the UK now, continuing my pre-Olympics training in rather cooler climes! Following my training camp out in Qingdao, the Olympic sailing venue in China, I had a short rest period before spending a day down at the Skandia offices in Southampton.
Skandia sponsor me individually as well as the whole Skandia Team GBR team, so I went in to meet some of their employees and give a talk on my preparations, hopes and dreams for the Games. It was good to meet them all, although it was pretty scary to walk in and see a big poster of myself up on the wall!! On the 2nd July I went up to the NEC in Birmingham for a day, to pick up all of my official kit which I will wear whilst I’m out in China. As well as the usual tracksuit and t shirts you’d expect, there were a few random items we were given, like a ‘foot care’ kit! We got some really good breathable trainers and some formal wear too, I was pleased to see that the kit had been well thought out and that they had obviously made an effort to make the girls’ kit quite fitted and feminine.
I also got my specialised sailing kit, rash vests and wetsuits, as well as what I would call a ‘Spiderman suit’ – a special all in one suit which is designed to help you kinetically, and make you feel more powerful. It’s what the swimmers wear, so I’m keen to test it out and see what it’s like. It took a whole afternoon to gather all the different items I was given, three big bags and a box in total. It was quite fun though, and it helped bring home to me the fact that I am really going to the Olympic Games, and it gave me a bit of a buzz as the reality of it all has started to kick in!
I have to undertake fitness tests at specific intervals during the year, and I’ve just had my last one before I head out to China for the Games. I had a really positive result, and it proved that I have improved my power as well as losing a little more weight. I’m thrilled to have met my targets, especially as I had been mainly sailing and in the gym the past few weeks whilst I was in China – rather than training on my bike, which is what the fitness test is measured on – and I’m feeling great. I have put all my faith in the Skandia Team GBR nutritionists and physiologists, who have designed specific programmes for me, so it’s good to know that the plans are working out well.
I started training back out on the water this week, and it’s been nothing but windy windy and rainy rainy. Unfortunately the conditions aren’t really ideal when I am trying to train for the light winds we expect in China, so we often change our training plans day to day. I have been in Weymouth for the past few days, where I am able to use the great facilities at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (the London 2012 venue) – we have a good gym and we can easily go out road cycling from there too. I have been out on the water training with some of the Skandia Team GBR youth squad guys, as well as Nick Dempsey, who will compete in Beijing in the men’s RS:X windsurfing class.
Both Nick and I have just received new boards, which are copies of the boards we will be racing on during the Olympic regatta. There have been some complications with the new RS:X windsurf boards, which has meant that the boards that have been built over the last couple of years have been coming out of the mould slightly differently, which is not how they should be. It’s supposed to be a one design class, and therefore all of the boards should be identical. To rectify this, the manufacturers have designed a new mould, and the boards we use at the games – which we are provided with for the competition – will be made from this new mould. So, each of the windsurfers competing at the Games have been sent a new board, also made from this mould, to train on over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully they’ll all be fairly standard and we’ll then have a fair competition.
Bryony Shaw is writing for the Dorset Echo in the build-up to this summer's Olympics. She is a member of Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team competing in the Olympic and Paralympic classes. Follow Bryony's progress at www.skandiateamgbr.com
It's now just over a month to go until the Olympic Games begin in China, and I'm counting down the days until the opening ceremony on the 8th August. I've spent the last two weeks out in Qingdao, China, training at the sailing venue for the Games.
I've sailed and raced out in Qingdao a couple of times before, including the Olympic Test Event last August, when I won a Gold medal. I've spent most of my time there out on the water, getting some long but quality sessions in, which is great preparation for me at this stage in my training programme. Qingdao is such a unique sailing venue, it's well known for having really light winds, and a very strong tide, as well as being really humid. The light winds mean that in the windsurfing class, we do a lot of pumping, so it's been really physical and good to spend some long sessions on the water with Nick Dempsey, who competes in the men's RS:X class, and our training partners.
One strange thing that we've had to contend with though, is a horrible thick, bright green seaweed which is everywhere, as thick as a carpet – there's no way you can sail through it. It's not something we've seen out there before, so we're not sure if this is typical of this time of year or not. If it's still there in August, it could be a real problem. As the current is so strong, you can begin racing in one area clear of the weed, and then ten minutes later it's drifted into your sailing area, so if we have to contend with that during racing, it could really change things. I'm not sure what will happen – I don't think you'd run a F1 race if there were leaves on the track! It could really change the way we sail.
We have a great set up out in Qingdao, which has now become the main base for the whole Skandia Team GBR team. Most of the other British sailors were out there with me too, as were lots of the support staff and coaches. Our nutritionist makes sure we're eating all the right things, and we have a team chef, Eddie, who looks after us all, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for the team. He makes a great thai green curry, and I've been given some recipes to try and continue my very specific eating regime at home right down to weighing out my porridge every morning. I need to make sure I am exactly the right weight and at peak fitness come August.
Luckily the weather was much less humid than it will be during the Games, it was quite pleasant and almost felt Mediterranean. It got hotter whilst I was there though, so by the time I go back towards the end of the month, I'm sure it will be boiling. I'm back in the UK for a couple of weeks now, continuing my training at home before I head back out for the big pre-Games build up. Not long to go!!
Bryony Shaw is writing for the Dorset Echo in the build-up to this summer's Olympics. She is a member of Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team competing in the Olympic and Paralympic classes.
Windsurfer Bryony Shaw, 25, is currently Britain’s Number One in the RS:X class. In 2007, she won Gold at the Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China, as well as in Weymouth at the Sail For Gold Regatta. On the back of these fantastic results, Bryony was nominated to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics, her major challenge over the next year will be to fulfil her lifetime ambition of winning an Olympic Gold.
Bryony first tried her hand at windsurfing in the South of France in 1992. At just nine years old and sailing a less than ideal board for a beginner, she immediately developed a passion for the sport. It wasn’t until she was 15 years old that racing began to interest Bryony and as soon as she tasted competition she knew that one day she would want to be World and Olympic Champion. It was these goals that helped Bryony through the cold winter training sessions and the early mornings, until she got her first break and became a part of the under 17 National Windsurfing Team. This experience and training gave Bryony the grounding on which she could build her already highly successful career.
The RS:X is one of the newest classes at the Olympics, making its debut in Beijing in 2008. Until 2005, Bryony competed in the old Olympic class, the Mistral. Although Bryony posted some decent results on the Mistral, her real talent has shown through in the RS:X class. 2006 was a great year for Bryony, winning two Gold medals at Grade One Olympic level events as well as achieving a Silver medal at the RS:X European Championships. On the back of this, Bryony had a great 2007 winning Bronze and Silver medals at Grade One events and Gold at the pre-Olympic Test Event in Qingdao. After making a consistent start to the 2008 season, Bryony is working double-time to ensure she is at her peak for the Olympic Games this summer.
Facts and Figures:
Class: RS:X Windsurfer
World Ranking: 6th (as of 9th April 2008)
DOB: 28th April 1983
Born: Wandsworth, London
Currently living: Weymouth, Dorset
Started sailing: Aged 9
Duration in current class: Since 2005
Greatest strengths in sailing: Good all-round sailor, I perform best at regattas with mixed conditions
Greatest weakness in sailing: Sailing upwind in a chop
Biggest goal: Olympic Gold, fame and fortune
Who has been the most influential person in your sailing career: My parents
Other interests away from sailing: Golf, surfing, snowboarding, shopping, partying
Results:
2008 – Princesa Sophia Regatta, Palma - 4
2008 – Sail Auckland - 5
2008 – RS:X World Championship - 8
2007 – Sail For Gold Regatta – Gold Medal
2007 – Olympic Test Event, Qingdao, China – Gold Medal
2007 – Rolex Miami OCR – Bronze Medal
2007 – World Championships – 10
2006 – World Championships – Silver Medal
2006 – Holland Regatta – 5
2006 – Semaine Olympique Francaise – 9
2006 – HRH Princess Sofia Trophy – Gold Medal
2006 – Rolex Miami OCR – Gold Medal
Mistral Results
2004 – European Championship – 20
2004 – World Championship – 15
2003 – ISAF World Championships – 31
2003 – Kiel Week – 17
2003 – SPA Regatta – 6
2003 – European Championship – 16
2003 – Semaine Olympique Francaise – 9
2003 – Princess Sofia Trophy – 6
2002 – World Championship – 11
2002 – European Championship – 13
2002 – Kiel Week – 10
2002 – SPA Regatta – 9
2002 – Semaine Olympique Francaise – 29
2002 – Princess Sofia Trophy – 13
2001 – World Championship – 17
2001 – Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship – 7
For more information, please visit: www.bryonyshaw.com
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Windsurfer Bryony Shaw, 25, currently Britain’s Number One in the RS:X class, won Gold at the Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China, in 2007 and in Weymouth at the Sail For Gold Regatta. She has been nominated to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics.
