Olympic Sailing 2008 - Laser and Laser Radial Classes

At dinghy docks, in boathouses and garages, under tarps in backyards, and of course, out on the water, the accumulated weight of all the Lasers out there (nearly 200,000 have been built) may very well affect the Earth's rotation. The reason for its popularity is clear: It's a boat simple enough for beginners, and yet so pure in its design and performance that it is the boat of choice for some of the world's best sailors. Raced in every continent but Antarctica (give them time), with an association covering over 120 nations, the ubiquitous Laser is the lightweight singlehanded dinghy for both men and women in the 2008 Olympic Games at Qingdao.

In what would later be called the "million dollar doodle," Bruce Kirby originally sketched out the design as a car-top sailboat. The prototype for the Laser was called the Weekender, with the sail letters "TGIF" for "Thank God It's Friday" to reinforce the fun factor. The design took of like... well, it took of like a Laser in a good breeze. The Laser Class made its Olympic debut in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the Laser Radial is making its debut this year. The Men's Laser and Women's Laser Radial are nearly the same boats, they just have different rigs to compensate for the sailors' weights. The Laser Radial, as its name suggests, uses an 18% smaller, radial cut sail on a slightly shorter, more flexible mast, making the boat manageable for lighter weight sailors.

The skill of the competitors in both Laser classes is simply astounding, and the conditions at Qingdao in this year's Olympics will likely reward the quick over the fast. With a fairly goo-catching centerboard and flat bottom, the Lasers may have a tricky time with the Qingdao algae if it comes back in quantity, and it could be a major factor for the fleet. Keep a close eye on Tom Slingsby (AUS), as well as Murdoch (NZL) and Goodison (GBR) for the Laser Class, and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), The host nation's Lijia Xu (CHN), and Sarah Blanck (AUS) for the Laser Radial Class.

Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser

Argentina - Julio ALSOGARAY
Australia - Tom SLINGSBY
Austria - Andreas GERITZER
Barbados - Gregory DOUGLAS
Brazil - Bruno FONTES
Canada - Mike LEIGH
Chile - Matias DEL SOLAR GOLDSMITH
Croatia - Luka RADELIC
Cyprus - Pavlos KONTIDES
Czech Republic - Martin TRCKA
Denmark - Anders NYHOLM
Dominican Republic - Raul AGUAYO
Estonia - Deniss KARPAK
Finland - Pierre Angelo COLLURA
France - Jean Baptiste BERNAZ
Great Britain - Paul GOODISON
Greece - Evangelos CHIMONAS
Guatemala - Juan I MAEGLI
Hungary - Zsombor BERECZ
Italy - Diego ROMERO
Japan - Yoichi LIJIMA
Korea - Jeemin HA
Luxembourg - Marc SCHMIT
Malaysia - Kevin LIM LEONG KEAT
Netherlands - Rutger VAN SCHAARDENBURG
New Zealand - Andrew MURDOCH
Norway - Kristian RUTH
Poland - Maciej GRABOWSKI
Portugal - Gustavo LIMA
PR China - Shen SHENG
Russia - Igor LISOVENKO
Seychelles - Allan JULIE
Singapore - Seng Leong KOH
Slovenia - Vasilij ZBOGAR
Spain - Javier HERNANDES
Sweden - Rasmus MYRGREN
Switzerland - Christoph BOTTONI
Turkey - Kemal MUSLUBAS
United Arab Emirates - Mohammed ADIL KHALID
Uruguay - Alejandro FOGLIA
USA - Andrew CAMPBELL
US Virgin Islands - Thomas BARROWS LLL
Venezuela - Jose Miguel RUIZ

Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial

Argentina - Cecilia CARRANZA
Australia - Sarah BLANCK
Belarus - Tatiana DROZDOVSKAYA
Belgium - Evi VAN ACKER
Canada - Lisa ROSS
Croatia - Mateja PETRONIJEVIC
Finland - Tuula TENKANEN
France - Sarah STEYAERT
Germany - Petra NIEMANN
Great Britain - Penny CLARK
Greece - Eftychia MANTZARAKI
Ireland - Ciara PEELO
Israel - Nufar EDELMAN
Italy - Larissa NEVIEROV
Lithuania - Gintare VOLUNGEVICIUTE
Mexico - Tania ELIAS CALLES
New Zealand - Jo ALEH
Norway - Cathrine GJERPEN
Paraguay - Florencia CERUTTI
Peru - Paloma SCHMIDT
Poland - Katarzyna SZOTYNSKA
PR China - Lijia XU
Russia - Anastasia CHERNOVA
Singapore - Man Yi LO
Spain - Susana ROMERO
Sweden - Karin SODERSTROM
Switzerland - Nathalie BRUGGER
USA - Anna TUNNICLIFFE

Laser and Laser Radial 2008 Olympics Sailing Schedule

(both Laser classes race on the same days)

August 12 2008
August 13 2008
August 14 2008
August 16 2008
August 17 2008
August 19th 2008 Laser and Laser Radial Medal Races!

- Olympic Sailing 2008 Laser and Laser Radial Classes by YC for YachtPals.com

READ MORE ABOUT THE LASER AND LASER RADIAL CLASS SAILBOATS, OR SAILING AT THE Olympics:

• Olympics (all news, photos, boat information, and blogs about sailing at the Olympics)
• Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics - Sailing
• Olympic Goo - Algae Invades Qingdao Sailing Venue
• From the Olympic Sailing Center in China
• Spy Drones, Algae, and Dirty Air - Sailing at the Olympics
• Goo Gone - Sailing Center Cleared of Algae for the Olympics
• Interview with Sarah Mergenthaller of the US Olympic Sailing Team
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Tornado Class Catamarans
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - Yngling Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The Star Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The FINN Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The 470 Class Sailboats
• Olympic Sailing 2008 - The 49er Class Sailboats
• Sailors in the Spotlight - 2008 Olympic Sailing Teams

Sailing Video: Extreme Laser Sailing