Chris Russell Sailing - Part 2

It has been a while since we last caught up with Chris in terms of his training and competition on the road to Rio 2016, so we thought it was about time for an update!

Chris has been all over Europe the last few months, and it makes for some great reading when you hear about the trials and tribulations of an elite level athlete.

Overall, Chris feels the past few months have been excellent and he is really pleased with what has been achieved across his training ahead of the 2014 race season. A significant amount of time in new venues with new training partners, all with the goal of raising the intensity of training work has resulted in a strong platform for Chris to build on in the coming months. 

Chris said this about his first race of the year:

'Late Feb I raced in Cadiz at the Andalucian Olympic Week. As expected it was a highly competitive regatta and it proved a great opportunity to test some of the things I've been working on over the winter. Put simply it didn't go well – I didn't achieve what I wanted to from this regatta from a training or racing perspective – but that’s OK. It was the first regatta of the year and these things happen – you learn from the mistakes and move forward.  And I bounced back well.

A week’s recovery work, followed by some intensive land-based training and then i headed straight out to Palma for the Arenal Training Camp. It took some time to get back up to speed but by the end of this mini-block, I was back on track, and learning a lot.'

Chris raced his first World Cup event of the year in Trofeo Princes Sofia, Palma, Mallorca. Conditions were very challenging for all competitors, as Palma usually provides a superb location for top class sailing, but as Chris describes here they were quite different on this occasion: 

'The conditions were really challenging - normally Palma presents "champagne" sailing conditions to rival anywhere else in the world, but the weather chose not to play ball this year and we were greeted with cold temperatures and a lot of wind and rain.

The regatta started really well for me - speed is good right now and i'm pleased with the way i'm sailing. I was highly competitive at the front. A small number of tactical mistakes cost me big in a a really big fleet which put me in the middle/rear of the pack following qualifying rounds which was disappointing. I recovered what i could from the final days of racing but will take a lot of positivity from the event.'

Chris is still not in line for a rest after this event as he jumped straight on a plane over to beautiful Split in Croatia for the Olympic Week, which involves an Irish team Trials Regatta for the World Championships later in the year. 

Chris was kind enough to give up his time for a phone call last week live on Dee Radio in Chester, to explain about the prize he has provided for our 24 hour competition. The lucky winner is in for a real treat having a day of training with Chris sometime in early summer.

If you would like a further insight into Chris's diet and training regime, his Nutritionist will be joining us on our stand at the Chester, Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival which is a fantastic event we are delighted to be sponsoring again this year. It is held at Chester Racecourse over the Easter weekend and is not to be missed! 

As always we wish Chris the best of luck with his training and competition, and we look forward to providing more updates on his progress in the near future.

You can learn more about Chris Russell and his Olympic campaign on his website.

Chris Russell in his Olympic Laser Class boat.