Smith back on Olympic course

Sailing

STUART ALEXANDER

reports from Miami

Lawrie Smith, Britain's most highly paid and high profile sailor, who already has an Olympic medal, is back on the treadmill here. Today sees the first race in the first of two trial regattas to select Britain's 1996 representatives in the stately Star class of two-man keelboat.

Smith is also planning a summer campaign in two kinds of spectacular boats that are as far removed as possible from the Star - the Ultra 30 and the Australian 18-foot skiff. He is also talking to three possible backers of the 1997-98 Whitbread race attempt: the ambitious Emirate of Dubai; Chris Dickson's sponsors, Tag Heuer; and the managers of the Swedish EF Education syndicate.

And he continues steadfastly to resist the attentions of this September's Grand Mistral round the world race organisers to skipper one of their boats.

So why does he still want to compete in the Olympics? The irresistible drug is the pure test of skill, rather than a budget-based arms race, against the best in the world. Smith spent part of November and December in the cold and miserable Solent assessing with crew Chris Mason and coach Bill Edgerton the merits of various different sails on offer for a campaign being financed, with "just about enough to cover it", by the Rockport boat shoe company.

Even then, he concedes they were not putting in as much time as the Americans, who may be out five days a week. And he knows he can now be in the Australian sunshine not only for some skiff sailing but a likely substantial boost to his bank balance.

Smith is apprehensive, surrounded as he is by Olympic squad members from many of the major European countries and the US at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, one of five which hosts the 10 classes of Olympic yachts all now tuning up in earnest in preparation for Savannah in July.

The remaining two big Olympic testing grounds are at Hyeres, France, in April and Medemblik, the Netherlands, in May. But both will be academic for Smith if he does not perform well enough in Miami now, and again at the second regatta in March, to secure the British place.

The uncertainty shows. "Who do you think will win?" he asks anyone who will listen. Up against him are the Barcelona pair, David Howlett and Phil Laurence, Soling contender Glyn Charles with George Skoudos, Stuart Hudson with David Munge, and the Hicks brothers, Michael and David.

Smith should be the favourite. His Barcelona bronze was in the Soling and another in the Star would be reward enough. But he likes an edge, a perceptible advantage, and he has yet to achieve that. Money will not buy it, talent plus a flat-out campaign may see him through. That is, if he can first clear the selection hurdle.