Diego Negri at Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships
A few hours after the starting in Perth (AUS) of the ISAF Sailing World Championship for Olympic Classes and valid as country qualification for 2012 London Olympic Games, the Star sailor Diego Negri (member of Italian Customer Police Sport Team, aka "Fiamme Gialle" group) talks about himself and explains how of this event will be important for him and for the whole Italian team. In the Star Class Diego Negri is currently at the top of the ranking list drawn up by Iscyra, thanks to the good results collected throughout the whole 2011 season with his bowman, Enrico Voltolini.
What does it mean for you to have reached the top of the world ranking?
"It is certainly a great satisfaction. I was arrived very close to the top in 2008, when, having placed second in the World Cup in Miami, I ended the season as second. Nevertheless, after that performance, there have been up and down situations. The fact that I had found a strong bowman as Enrico Voltolini allowed me to came back to the top of the results. I must admit that I was very surprised when I saw that calculations on the score of the various regattas of the season led me to the peak. This is a fact that represents a great satisfaction and an achievement for Italy.
How did you prepare for the World Cup in Perth?
"The training for this World Cup began almost the day after the European Championship in Ireland. After winning the continental title, we immediately thought about the next commitment. We stopped shortly, following one of my coach’s ( the Star Olympic medallist Valentin Mankin) philosophical thoughts: ’When things go well we absolutely should not relax’. Rest is necessary to those who need to take some time after a negative experience. Hence, just after being returned, we immediately began a set of practices in a working group with other high level teams who are our competitors in Australia, including the Polish Kusznierewicz, who had won the Championship in 2008, and who had placed fourth at the Olympic Games, and the Frenchman Florent Guillaume".
"We participated in these training sessions in Côte d'Azur seeking the Mistral and we were very lucky. We did not miss the Centennial regatta, held in Saint Tropez, where we placed second, mindful of a great battle to the death with the Swedish Loof. Closed that week, we took again the training, always in Côte d'Azur, in Saint Raphael. Training sessions were very useful and well suited to our needs: we found strong winds conditions, which were just what we needed to improve our techniques for the conditions that we will probably find in Perth. At the end of this specific preparation, we focused on a more routinary work, so we trained on starts, on rounding marks, on manouvering. We were guests of Club Nautico Marina di Carrara, training with the other Italian Lucio Boggi, which will also take part to the World Championship. Together with Lucio we trained mostly on practice starts. We decided not to sail in the last nine days before the competition to arrive in Australia with the greatest desire to return to the boat and give the best on the water. In the last period, finally, I spent much time in the gym doing workouts, aerobic exercises, weights, reminders of strength and everything you need to get prepared for a race so important".
How important is it to achieve results in this competition?
"The next step of the route for the London Olympic Games, the World Cup in Perth, is an important event because it will be assigned the 75% of participating countries in all classes: there will be 15 nations, more England as host country. As a result, at the end of these regattas will be assigned the first eleven available seats to the first eleven nations that will be classifiable. The same happens for all other classes, in proportion to the number of members of the fleet. In the case that, for some problems or damage or average, we will fail to hit the result, there will be still the next try out appeal to be held in Hyeres (France) in May. In this second World Championship it will be assigned the remaining 25% of seats to the nations".
"Of course we still hope to catch the Olympic chance already in Australia. In my career in Star class I have never gone far from the top ten. In my first World Championship, if I remember correctly, I closed twelfth and I was already fifth in my second appearance, and second in my third one. So I can say that we, as currently European Champions and as first in the ranking list, this should be a pro-forma for us. Surely we are going to leave for Australia, mostly with the intention to obtain a good result and confirm all the good work done during this season".