Olympia: "Buzios would be the perfect spot"

The Brazilian Lars Grael, 50, won Olympic bronze medals in the Tornado in 1988 and 1996. The brother of double Olympic champion and Volvo Ocean Race winner Torben Grael lost a leg in a serious collision with a motorboat in 1998, but then successfully continued his sailing career in the Star boat until the keelboat class was removed from the Olympic programme. Today, the politically active Lars Grael is still a top sailor and at the same time an influential functionary in various associations.

YACHT: Mr Grael, how dirty is the Olympic area off Rio really?

Lars Grael: It's filthy. And there is no permanent programme to improve it.

We hear about animal carcasses, pieces of furniture and piles of rubbish floating around the Olympic area. Is it so bad that the health of the sailors is at risk?

It is not as bad as reported in some press articles. But it is much worse than the national authorities have admitted.

Who is responsible for the condition and a possible improvement?

That is the problem. If something doesn't work, it's difficult to find those responsible. Rio's mayor only recently publicly declared that the clean-up plan for Guanabara Bay (ed.: the Olympic area) had failed. The public company CEDAE is responsible for the Rio de Janeiro region. They have declared the bay clean and promised an improvement by 2016. Rio's Ministry of the Environment has described the Guanabara Bay area as "above average by international standards". Both are trying to use counter-propaganda to shake public opinion. What a pity!

Can Olympic sailors be sent to this bay?

It is of course sailable. We sail there every week and it was the venue for the 2010 Starboat World Championship and the 2013 Snipe World Championship. So far, there have been no reports of any health problems.

Who could exert pressure for more effective clean-up measures?

This would be the responsibility of the World Sailing Federation Isaf via the IOC and the organising committee for Rio 2016. Brazil has just hosted the Football World Cup and has done so successfully overall thanks to intensive planning and controls by FIFA. However, Isaf has not yet taken on this role for sailing at the next Olympic Games. I hope that Isaf will become more active after the test regatta in August.

What do you recommend to potential Olympic starters for 2016?

As much training as possible in the Olympic area! Guanabara Bay is a very difficult sailing area, a great challenge - complicated due to the wind shifts, currents and tides. It is a beautiful sailing area with marvellous temperatures in August. On the other hand, the water quality is disgusting. The floating rubbish can be a big problem for the participants.

Were there no alternatives?

It would have been correct on the part of Isaf to have had the foresight to move the sailing to Buzios, around 150 kilometres east of Rio. The wind conditions there are marvellous and the water is clean. Buzios would be the perfect spot. But it took too long for everyone to realise the situation. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to change territory.

What role will sailing play during the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil?

It could have been bigger, including the Star boat. Many in the World Sailing Federation had problems understanding this reality, which is very special in Brazil. Now the decision has been made. Furthermore, Rio does not offer an Olympic-level harbour. There will be no legacy for sailing afterwards. Nevertheless, sailing is very important in Brazil. When the president of a country gets involved in the battle for an Olympic class (ed.: the Star boat), it is worth more than a chance to win a medal. It means a public appeal to see the Games as a celebration of our heroes like Torben Grael with his five Olympic medals.

How much regret is there in Brazil about the removal of the Star boat from the Olympic programme - for the home games of all things for promising Brazilian medal candidates?

The cancellation is certainly a historic mistake! More than 50 per cent of all sailors worldwide sail keelboats. The Olympic Games should show the reality of sailing. The Isaf has chosen the wrong course. The Star boat is popular and famous worldwide and offers sailors that everyone knows. It is not just a question of medal chances for Brazil. The Starboat has offered tradition and celebrity since 1932, and many of the Isaf's discipline decisions are very difficult for sailors to understand. How should the public feel about this? How long will the current classes be Olympic? Kitesurfing is wonderful and I agree that it should be an Olympic test sport. But not under the umbrella of sailing. Sailing is done with sails! Kiting is done with kites! Archery is closer to shooting than kitesurfing is to sailing. Nevertheless, they are two different sports. The same applies to table tennis and tennis. Or taekwondo and judo, canoeing and rowing, football and rugby and other disciplines. They are similar, but different sports with different international associations.

What's next for the Starboot?

There is life outside the Olympic Games! Like Kiel Week, the Star boat class has a century-long tradition. It still represents the highest level of OneDesign keelboats. At the World Championships on Lake Garda, we had 90 boats from a wide variety of nations, including six former world champions. And now, with Robert Stanjek and Frider Kleen, two Germans have joined them! We have quality and quantity. Some keelboats like the Etchells and the J 24s have survived for decades without ever having been Olympic. The Dragon class is still a great example of a very active former Olympic class.

After your accident, you continued to sail at world level in Starboats and are involved in various associations ...

... yes, I am President of the International Star Boat Class Association ISCYRA, Commodore of the Brazilian Sailing Federation ABVO, Technical Director of the Brazilian Sailing Clubs Association CBC, support the Grael project and give motivational talks all over Brazil.

We have just experienced a Kieler Woche in Germany, which shone on land with strong partners and an impressive programme and offers a very beautiful sporting sailing area, but since the withdrawal from the Sailing World Cup has suffered from dramatically dwindling numbers of participants in the Olympic field ...

In my view, the Isaf has also taken the wrong course here. Time will tell. Kiel Week has tradition, fame, history, pride and will survive these years of mediocrity. Kiel Week is and will remain the Wimbledon of sailing!

You yourself sail in a wide variety of classes, near the coast and at sea. What does sailing mean to your life?

Passion, tradition, challenge, pleasure - life!