Marcia’s rig ready to sail

Published Jul 26, 2016

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Johannesburg - South African yachtsman Stefano Marcia, had to go to the ends of the earth, often sleeping in his car, to reach his dream of going to the Rio Olympic Games.

The Laser sailor from Johannesburg vowed to go to the quadrennial showpiece when he was in Matric in 2012 at Jeppe High School for Boys, a decision that would take him around the world.

“I just made my mind up. I’m not going to university or anything like that but the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. And I dedicated all my time to qualifying and getting there,” Marcia said.

Marcia was the first sailor to qualify for the Games courtesy of his performance at last year’s Laser World Championships in Canada where he finished 43rd overall to qualify for the elite Gold Fleet race.

The 22-year-old had to compete against more than a thousand other sailors in search of ranking points, competing at regattas around the globe.“I spent a lot of time and money being at all these regattas. If I had to add up all the costs from the last four years, each year would be about R2 million, which is the cheapest I could do it,” he explained.

“In Europe I had to sleep in cars. It was not often but I would not have money to get into hotels, so I would sleep in the car. (Now) I’ve had a private sponsor, who funded my whole Olympic campaign. He’s put in a lot of money.”

The thought of sleeping in his dinghy had crossed his mind but “this is chilly France ... so you just put the (car) seat down and sleep in there".

Marcia will be using the Rio Olympic Games as a stepping stone to Tokyo 2020, where he hopes to compete for a medal.“I have made it a personal goal of at least winning one race at this Olympic Games and being in the top 15 in the overall rankings list out of 46 competitors,” Marcia said.

“I am seeing Tokyo as my opportunity to win a medal for the country and that is what I am aiming for.”

His competitive season is virtually all-year round. He would kick off in Australia in September moving onto the European season starting in February before finishing at the World Championships in August.

In pre-season, Marcia spends approximately seven hours, six days of the week on the boat and hardly gets to put his feet up or stay in South Africa during the year of racing.

Marcia will have 10 fleet races at the Olympics where all 46 boats compete and if he is lucky, he will make it to the 11th race where the top 10 boats compete for a medal.

The sailing competition will be held on the waters of the infamous Guanabara Bay, termed unsafe by experts.An independent study by AP in July last year indicated “dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from human sewage in Olympic and Paralympic venues”.

Authorities have since installed barriers to keep garbage and debris from drifting in the way of the sailors but the water remains heavily polluted. “That makes it more exciting, try not to get sick and you will have a good week, I suppose,” Marcia said jokingly.

While Marcia will go on his maiden Olympic voyage, 470 sailors Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson will make their second appearance after finishing 26th overall four years ago in London.

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The Star

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