Kingussie sailor Fynn Sterritt begins quest today for Olympics glory in Marseille
Kingussie sailor Fynn Sterritt and teammate James Peters will launch their quest for Olympic glory this afternoon.
The pair are sailing for Team GB in the 49ers boats competition at the Games sailing venue Marseille.
It will be the first of 12 races in successive days leading to the final big points race on Thursday when the pair hope to be contending as top ten qualifiers at the business end.
Double points will be on offer in the crunch last race to decide where the medals go.
It is a first Olympics for Sterritt who took time out from the sport briefly after so narrowly missing out on qualifying for the last Olympics in Tokyo.
But Sterritt, who is the son of Caroline, who lives in Carrbridge, and Wes, now based in Ireland, came back fighting from the heart-breaking blow.
And with a new sailing partner, coach and boat on board, he is now at the top of his game.
Sterritt and Peters are currently the reigning 49ers European champs.
The former Kingussie High School pupil has said all three Olympic medals are wide open with the Dutch, French and Spanish crews expected to be in the shakedown.
Sterritt did not want to make any medal predictions and instead the focus is on performances over the next five days of sailing competition in the 49ers - so called because of the 4.99 metres length of the two-person crafts.
He said: “For James and I, what we're looking to achieve at the Olympics is putting in a performance.
“We all dream of that Olympic medal, and we certainly believe that we can come away with a medal at the end of it all. But I think for us, it's more about how we put all our learning of these last 20-odd years and the last 10 years together.
“How do we put all that into delivering a performance that we're proud of?
“A lot of work has gone in, not just from ourselves but from all those around us.
“It'd be nice if we could repay that with something exciting at the end.
“But as I say, all we can do is just do our best, put in a performance that we're proud of, and we'll see what happens after that.”
Being at the Olympics is a dream come true for Sterritt - who actually wrote that this was his target in his Kingussie High School leavers year book.
He said: “Going to the Olympics is massive. When I was young, it seemed like an impossibility.
“There was no chance that I could go to the Olympics. Then, at some stage, that impossibility turned into a bit of a dream. Not many people get to this point, and I think there's a huge amount of luck in getting here.
“I just want to go and make the most of it and do everyone proud.”
He continued: “I remember watching London 2012 and some of the people who I'd grown up sailing against were competing there and actually went on to medal.
“I just thought, you know, if I don't do this now, then I'm never going to do it. So this journey started quite a long time ago….
“I come from an outdoorsy family with four kids. There was always a need to keep us entertained. We got to do river rafting, sailing, skiing, and sailing was the one that we all stuck with for a bit longer. I guess
“I'm the last one to take it all the way, but it was great fun.”
And in Peters, he has the perfect team-mate.
He said: “James is an awesome sailor. I think he's probably one of the most naturally gifted sailors I've sailed with.
“If he goes into that subconscious flow mode and just lets his natural ability take over, he's pretty hard to beat.
“When we first stepped in the boat together, it was really natural and easy. Our skill sets complemented each other really well, which makes it easier, not having to learn about the other person too much.”
Ex-two times Olympic medal winner Stu Bithell has been coaching the pair for the Paris Olympics.
Sterritt said: “We've worked with a number of coaches over the years and taken a huge amount from various different coaches. He's going to be a massive asset at the games.
“He's a two-time medallist himself and was one of my inspirations from London 2012.
“I grew up sailing against him in the 420, and he was always a step ahead. Watching him in London made me think I had to give this a go.”
There will be a watch party at Boat of Garten Community Hall on Thursday afternoon which is being organised by members of Loch Morlich Sailing Club. More details will follow.
In the meantime the provisional schedule for the 49ers Olympic sailing competition is today (Sunday) 2.45pm, Monday 1.05pm, Tuesday 3.35pm, Wedensday 1.50pm and Thursday 1.43pm. There are two races per day and the individual races last for around 30 minutes.
The racing is being covered on Discovery+ which is also free to Sky customers for the Paris Olympics and available for the apps menu.
The Strathy will also be following the competition with updates at www.strathspey-herald.co.uk
