Coach Finglas and Yngling crew ready for Olympics
'Krystal WEIR, Karyn GOJNICH, Angela FARRELL, AUS 59 - Yngling (Rolex Miami OCR 2008)'
© Rolex/Dan Nerney
Australian Olympic Yngling class coach Adrian Finglas has attracted the devoted attention of three fit and enthusiastic female aquatic athletes.
The Yachting Australia high performance coach who built his career from a shoestring budget to win a World championship in the Tasar class at Yeppoon claims he is no Brad Pitt.
However in recent months the exceptionally talented Queenslander has firmed a strong bond with Krystal Weir, Karyn Gojnich and Angela Farrell as the Australian Olympic Yngling crew begin their 30 day countdown to race for the Olympic medals off Qingdao on the Yellow Sea.
Both the crew and coach firmed as a strong medal prospect when they won the World championship Silver Medal at Miami Florida in February.
This was an outstanding achievement finishing second to the Athens Olympic Gold Medallist Sarah Ayton but they have not rested on their laurels.
Earlier this week they were back on dry land at the Zou Boat Yard in China scrubbing sanding and polishing to eliminate every blemish from the sail fast surface of the hull.
'It was hours of back breaking work on the long boards to sand out all the imperfections and scratches and then buffing the hull with five different grades of polish, but the end result of a super smooth hull no coated with Teflon was worth it.'
'Every bolt, nut, rope and fitting has been checked and rechecked to save weight and the girls are happy with the boats 'diet' which should be very fast in light wind' Adrian Finglas said.
There is every indication that the 2008 Olympic Regatta will totally test the light wind sailing skills of the Australian Team who have high medal prospects in several classes including the Tornado Catamaran, Laser dinghy the 470 and Yngling.
Former World champion 18ft skiff skipper Iain Murray and crew mate Andrew Palfrey have been nominated as a wild card in the Star Class which will lift the chances for the Australian team to set another special Olympic moment similar to the 1972 Munich Games when the Australians won the best Olympic Yachting team award.
Brisbane born sailing twins John and Tom Anderson shared the excitement of winning Gold Medals 36 years ago when John Anderson crewed with Sydney helmsman David Forbes in the Star class while the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron crew of John Cuneo, John Shaw and twin Tom Anderson were victorious in the Dragon class with Wyuna.
Both crews expressed their talent in unfamiliar conditions with David Forbes steering Simba to his gold medal win over the more favoured Swedish helmsman Pelle Pettersson while the Queensland trio upset the East German Dragon class favourite Paul Borowski.
Prospects of challenging the performance in Munich appears promising however the new generation team of highly skilled sailors will need to master the tricky winds off Qingdao to win Gold in at least two classes for a chance to equal the impressive 36 year old record.
by Ian Grant 
Margaret River or Osborne Park (severne shop), WA
