Olympic Games: New Zealand sailor Tom Saunders breaks through for ILCA 7 selection

Tom Saunders has been going through a range of emotions over the past few weeks.

In 2020, the Kiwi sailor decided to step back from the sport after missing out on selection for the Tokyo Olympics in the hugely competitive ILCA 7 class.

He spent 14 months away from competition from February 2020, but signalled his intentions with a world championship title not long after his return.

Now, four years on from the disappointment of Tokyo, Saunders is preparing to take part in his first Olympic Games.

“I needed some time to process the last eight years,” he said of taking a step away from sailing.

“You don’t really stop, so it was nice to step back and really think about what has happened, over those last four years in particular; missing out on Tokyo and how to go about things differently, or if I needed to change something, and just have that fresh mindset.

“It’s reinvigorating, and I carried that right through this cycle. It was very important.”

Tom Saunders will sail in the ILCA 7 class at the Olympics. Photo / Jason Dorday

Saunders was one of five athletes to have their spots in this year’s Olympics confirmed by the NZOC on Wednesday, alongside windfoiling duo Veerle Ten Have and Josh Armit, and the Nacra 17 team of Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson. Of the five athletes confirmed, only Dawson and Wilkinson have previous Olympics experience, having competed in Tokyo.

After taking some time off, Saunders said he picked up different lessons on his return – particularly around focusing on himself as an individual and how doing so could impact his success.

“When I took that time off, I really thought about what works for me. We’ve always had a good benchmark. Sam Meech, for Rio and Tokyo, he was on the podium for almost every event so it’s hard to look at what he does and not copy it. It’s obviously working and he’s been very consistent,” Saunders said.

“But at the same time, you’ve got to know what works for you and that’s probably been the biggest shift for this cycle: you know your body and you know your preparation a little bit more and what’s important for yourself, and that’s a big change I’ve tried to adjust to.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. You always talk about 10,000 hours – I’m sure I’ve done that twice, so I’m just being smart about when to put the time in on the water, when to work hard and when to step back a little bit and just tick things over so you keep that fresh energy so when we do get back to an event we’re fresh and ready to go and excited to be there.”

His selection completes a bounce-back year after a 2023 campaign in which his results fell short. It was actually fellow Kiwi George Gautrey who ensured New Zealand would have a spot in the Olympic ILCA 7 fleet, when he claimed bronze in the world championships at The Hague last year. Saunders finished that regatta 11th.

Josh Armit, Veerle ten Have, Micah Wilkinson, Erica Dawson and Tom Saunders have had their places in the Olympic Games squad confirmed. Photo / Jason Dorday.

While his best result last year was his fifth at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain, Saunders started 2024 in strong form and put himself firmly back in the Olympic frame with a fifth-placed finish at the world championships in Adelaide last month. Gautrey finished 15th.

Saunders will compete in a few more regattas before the Olympics arrive and was looking to build on the form that earned him his selection. He said the Games are being held in a location that would provide the sort of conditions he likes to see in a regatta.

“It’s just fun. You forget that at times. We do it because we love it, and you’ve got to remember that. Taking that time away, you can take the sailing and the racing for granted sometimes so that was a timely reminder that we do this because we love it. We always want to perform, but you can’t forget why you do it.”

“I had a good summer, had a good event pre-worlds and then yeah, it was pretty solid at the worlds,” Saunders said.

“[It wasn’t] quite where I wanted to be, but I feel like I’m in a really strong position to perform in Marseille. It’s a good venue for me, and the expectation is on a couple of other guys who’ve been pretty consistent, so I feel pretty dangerous moving forward, which is pretty exciting.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.