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TOKYO TALES : OLYMPIC GAMES

Team GB’s windsurfers, Tom Squires and Emma Wilson, did us incredibly proud. Tom finishing 7th and Emma 3rd to claim a bronze medal, both winning races along the way, showing just how world class they are. The talented duo tell us all about their Olympic games, while Will Carson, Team GB racing communications manager, gives us a flavour of behind the scenes. 

WORDS – TOM SQUIRES, EMMA WILSON, WILL CARSON  // PHOTOS © Sailing Energy / World Sailing 

TOM SQUIRES 

BUILDUP 

 The lead into the Olympics is a strange one, with so much preparation and planning coming together months in advance and organising gear into containers. I tried to set two priorities that would make a big difference out here, firstly was the humidity and how the heat affected my hands blistering, and secondly was getting my windsurfing fitness more explosive, because intervals aren’t really my jam, I prefer longer steadier exercise like bike riding or windsurfing for hours.  

Despite the uncertainty with the games due to Covid, you just have to keep going. As an athlete it’s too difficult to keep pushing forwards if you’ve got doubts in your mind. 

GEAR 

For these games we could take our own gear. I must own 10 RS:X boards right now, and 15 or so sails. I’ve been on the 9.5 sail for 11 years and although it’s not helpful and slightly confusing holding onto that amount of gear, I never seem to get around to selling it. 

RITUALS 

I believe a bit in karma; I normally just sail with respect for all the other windsurfers and in return hope for fair sailing, which there always is. We’re super lucky we’re able to compete at Olympic level and everyone is still respectful in their own way, it’s great racing these guys and any beef is always left on the racecourse. 

TRAINING 

 Training days on the water before the Olympics were tough. I had a shocking few days finishing close to last before we kicked off. So my head was straight to default – choose kit I knew was fast and stick to the techniques and race skills I know and trust. I had no real time to get nervous, but it is an incredibly special competition, there’s nothing like it. I was buzzing to be here and gave it everything.

RACING 

We had everything from 5 to 15 knots, so it made racing super fair, everyone had their day and their conditions at some point. I had two races I wasn’t happy with, the third race on day one and the last fleet race before the medal race. In hindsight the Olympics is all about having your head in the game every race and those two I wasn’t 100% focussed on the processes needed to get me where I needed to be. I dug deep all week, but those two races I’ll be thinking about for some time. It’s normal to have good and bad feelings about races, but you’ve just got to let it go. My main buzz has been Emma, she’s done so well and it’s inspired me to push myself more and take my campaign to the next level on the iQFoil. She’s a legend. 

It’s hard to think that I won’t be on the RS:X  anymore, there’s no denying it’s definitely time for the update to the iQFoil, but I’ve had great memories making that thing move. It’s an easy board to cruise on, but incredibly tough to race and pump. It’s like a torture machine, it’s taught me so many lessons, but I kept going back for more.  

Both Emma and I were staying with the whole British sailing team, so it was important to continue as normal once our racing was over. This makes the environment for people finishing later in the week in different boats as similar as possible. But on the very last day, everyone let their hair down, that’s for sure.  

For obvious reasons, we had to keep our Covid bubble secure by not going to the opening or closing ceremonies.  

JAPAN 

Japan is a really cool place. I’ve been training here every year since 2016, it’s insane! The windsurfing and surfing culture in and around Sagami bay is unreal, the locals absolutely love it!  

LOVING IT  

I’ll be windsurfing as soon as I get home; I love it. I’ve tried all different kinds of watersports – winging, kite surfing, surfing etc., but nothing draws me in as much as windsurfing. Windsurfing for me is the ultimate and I plan to push participation in windsurfing as much as possible. If somebody can enjoy it as much as I have and continue to do, it’s a massive win!

2024 

2024? – hell yes! I’ll be all in for 2024 soon enough, but have to play a bit of catch up before I roll into the next event. It’s going to be insane! Really looking forward to Olympic windsurfing being connected with the mainstream windsurfing community; the future has never looked so bright! 

EMMA WILSON 

BUILDUP 

When we were first told the Games were going to be postponed, I was pretty gutted because I thought they might cancel it completely. The extra year actually helped me and I felt I matured a bit during that time. I feel my racing improved during that extra year also. Over the first winter of the pandemic, I was in a bubble with my parents. My coach Barry was in another bubble. At the time we were just trying to keep things safe. When restrictions started easing off a little bit, we managed to start training properly, but it was a tricky time to prepare for the Olympics.  

After the world championships I decided to spend my time in Weymouth training with the Danish girl and my coach Barrie Edginton. That was probably the best thing I could have done, have some time at home. We came out to Japan quite early to get over the jet lag. It also gave us time to get used to the heat, which really helped me in my preparation for the racing. We were not allowed to windsurf for ten days after we arrived, so we had to find other things to keep ourselves occupied. I did some biking and general training before we were finally allowed on the water. I think that slow buildup helped me.  

EQUIPMENT 

During my Olympic campaign I used about seven boards and close to thirty sails. For the actual games I used my favourite board, which was a crowd-funded one that loads of people chipped into to buy! That board is around three years old now. Sail wise I used my branded sail on my favourite mast, which was around four years old. My board and sail choice were down to how they felt and also what I was confident in.  

RITUALS 

I just kept drawing a smiley face on my hand each day of racing, but we had to wash our hands so much they kept getting rubbed off.  

ATMOSPHERE 

The Olympics felt different to any other competition I have done. Everyone seemed more scared and apprehensive. I guess we were all a bit more nervous than normal. Obviously I was nervous, but I think I managed it quite well compared to some of the others. I just tried to enjoy the whole experience, which was really important for me. Once I had finished racing on the first day, I realized this was just like any other regatta, so I just settled down and started to enjoy the racing. We were all going round the same marks as normal, but just with that goal of a medal rather than making a normal podium. 

The whole media attention and atmosphere surrounding us was another level. That was different to any other event I have raced at.  

RACING 

We had a mixture of conditions. The first day was quite light and then we had some planing racing in the middle of the week and then the medal race was really light again. I had a UFD (disqualification) that I felt was pretty close and may have cost me a different colour medal at the end of the day. I was pushing my starts, which I think is how I got such good results in the first place. So, the disqualification was probably inevitable.  

I think I did well because I was enjoying the moment and I was also learning from the team around me. Ideally, without that UFD, everything would have gone to plan, but we can all look back at things that could have gone for or against us.  

THE FINAL 

Luckily we had a rest day before the final as I had a pretty sleepless night before that. I slept well before the medal race. We were all basically joint on points going into the medal race. I think there were four points separating the top girl from me. Basically I needed to win the race and hope that another girl would finish between Yunxiu Lu and myself. The first upwind went ok for me, but I ended up around 7th going round the mark. On the second upwind leg I managed to find a good shift and pumped really hard. I have never pumped so hard in my life! I finished second in the medal race but third overall the way the points worked out, as the French sailor Charlene Picon had won the medal race. I was super happy to take the bronze! 

As I crossed the line, I was just trying to get my breath back it was so hard. That is probably the last RS:X race I will ever do. It was weird because I knew I had got the bronze medal and I had started the race in silver position. I was just happy to get a medal at the Olympic games and I am still only 22, so hopefully I will get the chance to compete again in three years’ time and try and upgrade the medal.  

I had to wait a few days to celebrate because a lot of sailors were still competing. I did not want to rub it in their face that I had already got a medal.  

JAPAN 

Japan was really cool. I am happy I came a few years before. This year was completely different. We could not go anywhere aside from the place we were staying and the sailing venue. From my previous experience, everyone was so welcoming and friendly. The locals in the village and at the event were amazing. I brought a few snacks with me from the UK, but we had chefs in the village and our meals were all cooked for us.  

I did not get to see any of the other sports or hang with the other athletes outside of sailing. Hanna Mills and Eilidh McIntyre got to go to the opening ceremony, but we had to stay in our bubble. That was just all part of the games this time around. I didn’t mind. The games happened and I am sure in the future Covid will be gone and we can go back to normal life.  

R&R 

Getting home and getting some sleep was very welcome! I loved getting to see my family again and celebrating with them and my friends. I will not be going on the RS:X again for a long, long time! I will get into iQFoil, but first I will have a bit of a rest. I will probably windsurf for pleasure. I will definitely do a lot of wing foiling! When I am windsurfing for fun, I have a Fanatic 80 litre board and a really old sail, so maybe I should get some new kit!  

I really want to go to the wave pool in Bristol. I do a bit of surfing so that would be fun. I want to go and see my brother in Australia at some point too, so helpfully Covid restrictions will allow that.  

2024 

I think the iQFoil is going to be cool. I have not done any competition on that equipment, but I have done quite a bit of training on it. It will be hard for me because a lot of the UK girls have already been training for a year and a half already. Anything is possible, I proved it here! I will give it my best shot and see what happens. 

WILL CARSON  – Team GB Racing communications manager 

TRAVEL

We had 45 in our delegation en-route to the Olympics, 15 athletes, 10 coaches and 20 support staff. We flew in four waves over the space of ten days. It was just a normal flight, not a plane especially put on for the athletes, although within Japan not accepting tourists currently due to Covid, our flights were largely full of Team GB athletes and support staff. Some of the sailors opted to upgrade to business on the outbound flight.

It didn’t feel weird when we all arrived in Japan, it felt more like returning to a familiar place full of fond memories. We’ve been coming to Japan since before the Rio Games, and we’ve built up strong relationships with the Japanese people, especially in Hayama where our team is based. We had to go through a very strict entry process on arrival, which included doing a Covid test, but it was run incredibly smoothly. 

COVID

Although many areas in Japan are in a state of emergency, their case numbers are very low – it’s more to do with the ability of their hospitals to cope. It was clear that the threat came from lots of people coming into the country from all over the world, especially those with very high case numbers, like the UK. We had to do two PCR tests before flying, and another on entry. We had to submit our exact movements for the first 14 days in the country in advance of arrival in Japan. We had to do a saliva test and fill in a health check form on an app every morning and were only allowed to be at our accommodation or the sailing venue for the length of our trip. We kept to our team bubble while there, and even operated bubbles within the bubble.

The sailing competition was in Enoshima, which is around 55 miles south of Tokyo. We stayed in Hayama, around 9 miles east of Enoshima, in private accommodation – no cardboard beds for us! We travelled by road, but also were lucky enough to be able to transfer via RIB on calmer days. 

All boats had to be ‘accredited’, and then movements were restricted on the water, with coach boats kept in a pen during racing.