By JULIE ASH
Sarah Macky admits there are days when she wishes she was a top runner instead of a sailor.
The thought of chucking a pair of shoes in a bag and heading off are understandably appealing, considering that everywhere she goes she has to lug her Europe dinghy with her.
But
come August, Macky, a former Herald junior sports award winner, concedes she will not mind one bit unpacking her boat in Athens.
But first she has to beat seven other sailors in the New Zealand Olympic trials, which start in Torbay today.
Macky qualified New Zealand a spot in the class after she finished sixth at the world championships in Cadiz last September.
Had she finished fifth or higher she would have automatically secured the spot for herself.
"That would have just been a fairytale if I had managed to pull that off," Macky said.
"But it wasn't to be. Having to do these trials definitely keeps you working hard and being able to be home in New Zealand and have some good racing."
While Macky is expected to fly through, the trials are a great opportunity for up-and-coming under-20 sailors Kate O'Brien, who finished 57th in Cadiz, Jo Aleh and Macky's little sister, Jane, to contest the Olympic spot.
"Basically I want to be confident. I should be confident," Macky said.
"But obviously I don't want to be overconfident, because in yacht racing anything can happen."
After a successful career in the Laser Radial class, in which she won the world youth title in 1997, Macky moved to the Europe class in 1998.
Two years later she found herself on the startline in the Sydney Olympics, where she finished a creditable ninth.
"When I look back I had hardly done much sailing at all then. I am still learning a lot but since then I have definitely become a better all-round sailor.
"In the first couple of years after the 2000 Olympics I dropped my weight down [about 8kg] and put a lot of effort into my fitness. I also trained a lot with Lenka Smidova [of the Czech Republic] which was really good.
"In the last couple of years, I have finished third in several regattas, which has proved I can perform no matter what the conditions. I have become pretty consistent, which is really important."
Also important is design. The Europe is a development class which means innovation is encouraged and sailors are able to experiment with sails, rig and hull.
"It is just like a mini America's Cup boat really. Half our time is spent developing," Macky said.
"The masts are the thing which are really personal. Every one has different stiffness and different ways they bend."
New measurement requirements will come into force at Athens that mean competitors will have to construct new boats because the old ones will not be legal.
Provided Macky does win the spot, she already has an idea of what to expect in Athens - having competed in a pre-Olympic event there last year, where she finished third.
"I loved the place, although we didn't go anywhere near the city," said Macky, who was part of the weather team for Italian challenger Mascalzone Latino in the last America's Cup.
"There is definitely shaping up to be two breezes. In the first half of the regatta it was offshore, which was generally more shifty and the wind was really up and down, but that suited me to a tee. I felt really comfortable where other people just had no idea.
"But in the second half of the regatta it swung around and became what I think stereotypically people are expecting Athens to be like - no wind and more onshore breezes, with really slow shifts."
Macky said there were a lot of ferries that created big waves which made sailing in light conditions even harder.
"But the rowing people are really bracing themselves because they think it is going to be really windy and inland it quite often is."
If she is successful in the Olympic trials, Macky plans to do the Sail Auckland regatta next month before taking a short holiday.
She will then spend a couple of weeks training with Australian Europe champion Sarah Blanck before heading to Europe for a series of regattas in April. She will stay overseas until the Olympics.
"The day after the trials we have to pack everything we need for Europe into a container and send it off.
"This year there are two things to focus on. One will be the racing, doing all the big regattas, and the other thing will be getting to Athens and developing a rig which suits the conditions."
With the medallists from the Sydney Games having retired or moved on to another class, Macky has as good a chance as any of securing a medal.
"Last time I was excited to go but this time I think it is heaps more important to me to do well.
"Even though I want to get a medal, I also want to enjoy the whole experience.
"Because it is the home of the Olympics I think it will be really special."
Sarah Macky
Born: Auckland, January 13, 1980.
Career highlights:
2003: 6th at the ISAF world champs, 1st Olympicsail, 2nd Sail Auckland, 3rd Semaine Olympique.
2000: Ninth at the Sydney Olympics.
1997: ISAF youth world champion and Laser Radial world champion.
By JULIE ASH
Sarah Macky admits there are days when she wishes she was a top runner instead of a sailor.
The thought of chucking a pair of shoes in a bag and heading off are understandably appealing, considering that everywhere she goes she has to lug her Europe dinghy with her.
But
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