Olympic Sailing 2008 - the 49er Class

It was 1996, and the call went out to find a new Olympic trampoline skiff for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  With the committee seeking a fast, advanced boat, several designs were considered, but after a week of trials at Lake Garda, Julian Bethwaite's 49er rose to the top of the fleet, and the new Olympic 49er Class was born.

The 49er is the most technologically advanced craft at the 2008 Olympics, and the fastest one-design, 2-person monohull dinghy around.  Fun for sailors and spectators alike, the action on these winged vessels is incredible, and the hi-tech adaptive rig provides for exceptional speed.

The 49er races this year are anything but a shut-out, and the podium may support a couple of long-shots in this class.  Watch for Spain, Italy and Denmark, but don't take your eyes off Australia, Britain, the Ukraine or the US.  If you can only follow one class through the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for action and upsets, the 49er is a good choice.

49er Skiff

Australia - Nathan OUTTERIDGE and Ben AUSTIN
Austria - Nico DELLE-KARTH and Nikolaus RESCH AUTNR1
Brazil - Andre FONSECA and Rodrigo DUARTE
Canada - Gordon COOK and Ben REMOCKER
Croatia - Pavle KOSTOV and Peter CUPAC
Denmark - Jonas WARRER and Martin KIRKETERPDENMK3
France - Emmanuel DYEN and Yann ROCHERIEUX
Germany - Jan-Peter PECKOLT and Hannes PECKOLT
Great Britain - Stevie MORRISON and Ben RHODES
Italy - Piero SIBELLO and Gianfranco SIBELLO
Japan - Akira ISHIBASHI and Yukio MAKINO
Norway - Christopher GUNDERSEN and Frode BOVIM
Poland - Marcin CZAJKOWSKI and Krzysztof KIERKOWSKI
Portugal - Jorge LIMA and Francisco ANDRADE
PR China - Li FEI and Hu XIANQIANGE
Spain - Iker MARTINEZ DE LIZARDUY and Xabier FERNANDEZ
Sweden - Jonas LINDBERG and Kalle TORLEN
Ukraine - Rodion LUKA and Georgiy LEONCHUK
USA - Timothy WADLOW and Christopher RAST

49er Class 2008 Olympics Sailing Schedule

August 10, 2008
August 11, 2008
August 13, 2008
August 14, 2008
August 15, 2008
August 17th, 2008 - 49er Medal Races!

- Olympic Sailing 2008 49er Class by YC for YachtPals.com

READ MORE ABOUT THE 49er CLASS SAILBOATS, 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
• Interview with Sarah Mergenthaller of the US Olympic Sailing Team
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Laser and Laser Radial 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 470 Classs Sailboats
• Sailors in the Spotlight - 2008 Olympic Sailing Teams

Sailing Video: 49er sailboats practicing in Qingdao for the 2008 Summer Olympics