Olympia 2012: Star boat duel of the giants

The star boat sailors are giving their farewell gala off Weymouth. In a highly controversial decision, the World Sailing Federation has removed the class that is considered the supreme discipline of Olympic sailing from the Olympic sailing programme for 2016.

Countless Olympic, world and European champions from other disciplines have crowned their already successful careers in this two-man keelboat. This is another reason why Olympic star boat sailors are among the most famous in their guild. They are the heavyweights of Olympic sailing in every respect. First and foremost the double Olympic champions Iain Percy and Robert Scheidt.

The Brit and the Brazilian, once successful in the Finn Dinghy and the Laser, have been engaged in a breathtaking duel for years. Most recently, Iain Percy won gold in China with co-skipper Andrew "Bart" Simpson. Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada had to be satisfied with silver back then and want to return the favour this week.

Of the 32 Star boat sailors (16 teams) in this Olympic regatta, only eleven have never competed in the Olympic Games before. Of these eleven, only two are helmsmen: Robert Stanjek and Eivind Melleby. You can guess the calibre of the opponents Stanjek and Kleen will be up against.

The 16 star boat helmsmen have a combined total of 41 Olympic appearances. The most prolific Olympic medallist to date is Robert Scheidt, who has won either gold or silver in all four of his Olympic starts. Iain Percy, on the other hand, has already taken part in three Olympic Games and won gold twice. And once again, the experts are one hundred per cent in agreement: the battle for gold and silver will be fought out in the Olympic arena between Schweidt and Percy.

Experienced Italian America's Cup adventurer, legendary Finn sailor and coach Luca Devoti told Yacht online: "Robert and Iain are not just a class above the rest of the fleet. They are sailing in another dimension, another world." The World Sailing Federation obviously wanted to encourage its athletes when it wrote in a headline to a press release before the Olympic regatta: "The stars are out to spoil the party for the Brits and Brazilians." They will have to rise above themselves to seriously challenge the titans. This also applies to the youngest team in this star-studded fleet: Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen.