PRESSURE, PERFORMANCE & EXPECTATIONS

Double Silver medalist Ian Walker gives us his perspective on the pressures when competing on the world stage

Ian Walker joined North Sails with unparalleled experience from the Olympic Games. The double Silver medalist coached the British Yngling trio to Gold before leading the most successful sailing nation in history as Performance Director for the British Sailing Team in Tokyo 2021, where they topped the medal table.  

With the Games underway, Ian gives us his perspective on the pressures the Olympics put on performance and what to look out for in Marseille during the Paris Games:  

"The pressure at the Olympics is intense. Sailing is a decision-making sport; making decisions is easy when you're not under pressure. But making decisions under pressure, when there's a lot at stake, is hugely difficult and can affect your tactical and technical decision-making. In particular, it can make people very risk-averse, creating a big differentiation between those competitors who thrive at the Games and those who look back and see a missed opportunity because they didn't achieve what they were perfectly capable of achieving. It's tough to prepare for the pressure or the size of the occasion as there is no other event like it – despite what people like to say, it is NOT just another event."  

📸 Ian Walker

"One of the challenges can be that normally, as a sailor, you are largely competing with your crew and coach. We encourage the sailors to take responsibility for their programs, and they are very independent.  I think one of the dangers of the Olympics is that you suddenly have all these other people on the team trying to help you, and whilst they've all got good intentions, it might increase the pressure and change how you normally prepare. It can be your superpower if you get this right, but you need to practice it."    

"There is no team better at preparing their sailors than the British Sailing Team. We are the most successful nation in terms of medals and gold medals. In the last 20 years since Sydney 2000, we have been the top nation more often than not."   

"But I think Olympic sailing is changing. There are new classes, faster racing, more jeopardy in the race formats, and winner-takes-all in the last medal race. There are fewer what I would call "technical classes". In days gone by, with the Finn or Star classes, you could have expected the British to have a technical advantage through their equipment preparation, but I think that has gone to a large extent. So, whilst I believe every athlete from the British team in Marseilles is capable of winning a medal, we have fewer nailed-on certainties than we would have had in years gone by. I hope British sailors win at least three medals and, maybe, five medals like we did in Tokyo. But it's going to be harder to be as successful in Marseille, particularly given the dominant nature of the French.   

"I don't like the expression, it's great to see sailors from a 'minor nation' doing well in sailing . You look at the Singaporean kiteboarder Max Maeder; he's utterly dominant, and I'd be amazed not to see him on the podium. That would be great to see in many ways.”   

  📸 World Sailing / Sailing Energy / Semaine Olympique Française

"Within the British team, I want to see Micky Beckett do well in the Laser; his campaign deserves it. That's going to be a fantastic battle. It's tempting to say it's between him and the Australian Matt Wearn, but of course, no class is more competitive than the Laser, and I imagine there are maybe even 15 sailors who could take the medals in that class. And I'd love to see Emma Wilson win the Gold medal in the windsurfing women's event because she deserves it. She's dominated that class, and I hope Lady Luck will be on her side during the Olympic Games this year. Of course, I want all the British competitors to do well."   

Marseille will be a tricky venue in some regards. There's the potential for powerful winds if they get mistral conditions, but there's the potential for very light conditions, too. There's a lot of land-affected sailing, and it can be very hot. But climate-wise, it's probably not as intimidating as somewhere like Tokyo, which has really high heat and humidity.

Undoubtedly, the French will have a very, very strong team. We've seen that in the buildup, and nobody has spent more time training in the venue, and they've had the best facilities for doing so. I am expecting France to be the top nation. It will be interesting to see how they deal with the hometown favorite tag. Remember Great Britain in Weymouth, where they had some advantages? It didn't work out for them, in fact, one of the weaker Games for the British sailing team was in their backyard. We are going to have to see how this unfolds."

  📸 World Sailing / Sailing Energy / Semaine Olympique Française

"What does it feel like to win an Olympic medal? I can barely remember, 24 years ago now! The overriding feeling I can remember was one of relief. All that effort, commitment, time, sacrifice, and then, during the event, the pressure. I remember the feeling of a huge weight coming off my shoulders - above all else, we could share it with our family, friends, and supporters."  

"Good luck to all the sailors competing at Paris 2024. I'll be watching with interest."