Olympic Sailing 2008 - the 470 Class

Since 1976, the 470 has been a big part of Olympic sailing, and it is both the Men's and Women's two-person dinghy at the 2008 Olympic Games. It is chosen not only for its sailing prowess, but for its ability to highlight the two-person teamwork this boat both requires and somehow magnifies. The 470 crew have to work in perfect synchrony or lose, it's that simple, and this makes 470 sailors a special lot - like two halves of a whole.

The boat itself is straightforward, fast, and in the right hands, very, very quick. Designed by André Cornu in 1963 as a modern fiberglass planing dinghy, the boat was given international status 1969, debuted in the 1976 Olympics for Men, and introduced the Women's sailing competition in the 1988 Olympics.

The nearly vertical centerboard and rudder of the 470 proved to be particularly good at collecting the Olympic Goo algae during training in Qingdao, and the effects are like putting on the brakes for these lightweight boats. Thus, there could be some real upsets if the goo (and the currents, and the heat-breezes) tend to favor one team over another. Said US 470 Olympian Sarah Merganthaler: "It's really part of the sport to be good at everything, and that's what makes it so darned hard!" Keep an eye on Japan, Italy and France in the Women's 470, and Austria, The Netherlands and Britain for the men.

Women's One Person Dinghy - 470

Argentina - Fernanda SESTO and Consuelo MONSGUR
Australia - Elise RECHICHI and Tess PARKINSON
Austria - Sylvia VOGL and Carolina FLATSCHER
Brazil - Oliveira FERNANDA and Isabel SWAN
Czech Republic - Lenka SMIDOVA and Lenka MRZILKOVA
France - Ingrid PETITJEAN and Gwendolyn LEMAITRE
Germany - Stefanie ROTHWEILER and Vivien KUSSATZ
Great Britain - Christina BASSADONE and Saskia CLARK
Israel - Nike KORNECKI and Vered BOUSKILA
Italy - Giulia CONTI and Giovanna MICOL
Japan - Ai KONDO and Naoko KAMATA
Netherlands - Marcelien DE KONING and Lobke BERKHOUT
PR China - Wen YIMEI and Yu CHUNYAN
Singapore - Liying TOH and Hui Min Deborah ONG
Slovenia - Vesna DEKLEVA PAOLI and Klara MAUCEC
Spain - Natalia VIA-DUFRESNE and Laia TUTZO
Sweden - Therese TORGERSSON and Vendela SANTEN
Switzerland - Emmanuelle ROL and Anne-Sophie THILO
USA - Amanda CLARK and Sarah MERGENTHALER

Men's One Person Dinghy - 470

Argentina - Javier CONTE and Juan DE LA FUENTE
Australia - Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE
Austria - Matthias SCHMID and Florian REICHSTADTER
Belarus - Sergei DESUKEVICH and Pavel LOGUNOV
Brazil - Fabio PILLAR and Samuel ALBRECHT
Canada - Stephen LOCAS and Oliver BONE
Croatia - Sime FANTELA and Igor MARENIC
Finland - Niklas LINDGREN and Heikki ELOMAA
France - Nicolas CHARBONNIER and Olivier BAUSSET
Great Britain - Nick ROGERS and Joe GLANFIELD
Greece - Andreas KOSMATOPOULOS and Andreas PAPADOPOULOS
Ireland - Gerald OWENS and Philip LAWTON
Israel - Gideon KLIGER and Ehud GAL
Italy - Gabrio ZANDONA and Andres TRANI
Japan - Tetsuya MATSUNAGA and Taro UENO
Korea - Cheul YOON and Hyeongtae KIM
Netherlands - Sven COSTER and Kalle COSTER
New Zealand - Carl EVANS and Peter BURLING
Poland - Patryk PIASECKI and Kacper ZIEMINSKI
Portugal - Álvaro MARINHO and Miguel NUNES
PR China - Wang WEIDONG and Deng DAOKUN
Russia - Michael SHEREMETIEV and Maxim SHEREMETIEV
Singapore - Yuan Zhen XU and Seng Kiat Terence KOH
Slovenia - Karlo HMELJAK and Mitja NEVECNY
Spain - Onan BARREIROS and Aaron SARMIENTO
Sweden - Anton DAHLBERG and Sebastian OSTLING
Switzerland - Tobias ETTER and Felix STEIGER
Turkey - Deniz CINAR and Ates CINAR
USA - Stuart MCNAY and Graham BIEHL

470 Class 2008 Olympics Sailing Schedule

(Men's and Women's classes race on the same days)

August 11, 2008
August 12, 2008
August 13, 2008
August 15, 2008
August 16, 2008
August 18th, 2008 - 470 Men's and Women's Medal Races!

- Olympic Sailing 2008 470 Class by YC for YachtPals.com

READ MORE ABOUT THE 470 CLASS SAILBOAT, OR SAILING AT THE Olympics:

• Olympics (all news, photos, boat information, and blogs about sailing at the Olympics)
• Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics - Sailing
• Olympic Goo - Algae Invades Qingdao Sailing Venue
• From the Olympic Sailing Center in China
• Spy Drones, Algae, and Dirty Air - Sailing at the Olympics
• Goo Gone - Sailing Center Cleared of Algae for the Olympics
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Laser and Laser Radial Class Sailboats
  
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Tornado Class Catamarans
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Yngling Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The Star Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The FINN Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The 49er Class Sailboats
• Sailors in the Spotlight - 2008 Olympic Sailing Teams
• Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics - US Olympic Sailing Team
• Sailing at the Olympics - Finn Race Results
• Sailing at the Olympics - 49er Race Results
• Sailing at the Olympics - Yngling Race Results
• Sailing at the Olympics - Laser and Laser Radial Results
• Interview with Tom Slingsby - Sailing Lasers for the Australian Olympic Sailing Team
• Interview with Sarah Mergenthaler - Sailing the 470 for the US Olympic Sailing Team
• Sailing at the Olympics - 470 Race Results

OLYMPIC SAILING RSS FEED

-- Sailing at the 2008 Olympics - Quick Look at Olympic Sailing Classes --

Multihull Sailboat = Tornado
Skiff Doublehanded Open Sailboat = 49er
Women's Windsurfer = RS:X
Women's One Person Sailing Dinghy = Laser Radial
Women's Two Person Sailing Dinghy = 470
Women's Keelboat = Yngling
Men's Windsurfer = RS:X
Men's One Person Sailing Dinghy = Laser
Men's One Person Sailing Dinghy = FINN
Men's Two Person Sailing Dinghy = 470
Men's Keelboat = Star

Sailing Video: 470 Class Sailboats at the 2008 Men's 470 World Championships