ON THE WATER
Paris 2024
“Turn up with a clear mind and have your wits about you”
ILCA 7 sailor Micky Beckett gives his perspective on the Games in the run-up to hitting Marseille waters
L
ast summer was good for me: I won silver medals at the Olympic Test Event and the
ILCA 7 World Championship. Off the back of this I was selected to represent Team GB at Paris 2024. ˇ˛˘ ˂ˠˣ˜˖ ˤ˨˔˜Ѓ˖˔˧˜
process was gruelling, and possibly tougher than the Games itself will be. There is such talent in the British ILCA 7 squad that I felt a huge sense of relief when I was selected. It’ll be an enormous
privilege to go to the Games, and I’m lucky to be supported by very talented and wise people, such as coaches Matt Howard and Chris Gowers. The lads in the squad have also been amazing in rallying round me. It’s been quite touching just how supportive they’ve been. As well as the honour of this
selection, the other thing I took away from my 2023 results was a ˛˨˚˘ ˔ˠ˨˧ ˙ ˖Ѓ˗˘˖˘ʡ ʼϠ˩˘ been part of the British Sailing Team for over ten years now.
Team GB secures another class place
Hannah Snellgrove will take on the world’s best in the women’s dinghy class, the ILCA 6, at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games this summer. Snellgrove, who’s 33 and from
Lymington, said, ‘It’s the biggest honour to be selected for Team GB. It’s been quite the 26-year project ˦˜˖˘ Ѓ˥˦˧ ˦˘˧˧˜˚ ˙˧ ˜ ˔ ˕˔˧ ˔˗ fair to say I’ve taken the scenic route. ‘I would love to be on the podium
at the Games, but my biggest goal is to go out and give a performance that I know is the absolute best
version of myself as an athlete.’ The 11th sailor named for Team GB, Snellgrove joins a stellar cast of athletes, including Tokyo 2020 medallists John Gimson, Anna Burnet and Emma Wilson, and two-time Olympian Saskia Tidey. Selection for the Men’s Kite (Formula Kite) and Mixed Dinghy (470) classes is still ongoing. The ten sailing events at Paris
2024 take place at the Stade Nautique de Roucas Blanc in Marseille from 28 July to 8 August.
Last year I was the only person in ˧˛˘ Є˘˘˧ ˧ ˜ ˔ ˠ˘˗˔ ˔˧ ˘˩˘˥ event. This showed me that my overall approach was providing a level of consistency that not many others were able to match. It was vindication for my methods and the hard work I’ve put in. At the 2024 ILCA 7 World
Championships in Australia this January I won bronze after a really close battle with Matt Wearn from Australia. It was the toughest week of sailing of my life. I’m battered ˔˗ ˕˥˨˜˦˘˗ ˕˨˧ ˧ Ѓ˜˦˛ ˧˛˔˧ ˛˜˚˛ ˨ˣ ˜ ˧˛˘ Ѓ˘˗ ˜ ˖˗˜˧˜˦ ˧˛˔˧ don’t suit me is very pleasing. Matt didn’t make any unforced
errors, while I made a small number. Ultimately that was the difference between winning and not winning. Matt has set the benchmark for what needs to be done to win, but I know I can beat him, particularly in the conditions we’re going to get in Marseille. It’s easy to assume I just need to
understand the venue, but what I’ve learned is that it’s hot, hectic and a messy place to sail. The most important thing for success is to turn up with a clear mind and have your wits about you. I’m focusing on not doing too many days there and arriving fresh and excited about the challenge.
rya.org.uk SPRING 2024 53
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
