Newsletter September 2014
A PLACE SECURED FOR SWITZERLAND IN NACRA FOR THE RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
 Image © Sebbe Godefroid
After 2 years of hard work in the formation of our new team with ambitious objectives - we have achieved in the newly introduced Olympic discipline of the mixed Nacra 17 class what we have been working for ! A 6th place in the ISAF World Championships held in Santander, Spain this past week has secured Switzerland a place on the starting line for Rio by meeting the requirements of the Olympic quota selection process.
Santander, Spain, September 2014 – The journey continues ... ! The future looks bright for our team, not only qualifying our country for the Olympic Games in the first available opportunity- but a convincing win in the final medal race moved our team to 6th overall in the World Championships meeting the goals for the 2014 season while sending a clear message to our other competitiors !
On our way to win the final Medal Race, photo(c)ISAF
After so much time training in Santander this past season the town and the waters of the bay had began to feel like our second home ! While most of our training was done in light to moderate seabreeze ; as is often the case as a major event arrives – the teams were met with highly unusual conditions !
As Nathalie explained «This is one of the most tiring regatta's I have competed in! Even just the qualification phase of the event took twice the time that was scheduled as we had to cope both at first with not enough wind, and 2 days later too much wind!» Waiting presents a very challenging aspect of our sport as unlike athletics or soccer which has a fixed start and finish time, it is important that sailing athetes can be ready to race at any time. The key being to «Stay relaxed but focused» Mati added.
We produced impressive results (1, 2, 13, 1, 18) in challenging conditions to end the initial qualification phase in 2nd position, our boat speed being a talking point among some of the other top contenders ! 4 races were completed in strong but variable winds from the land with multiple 'hero to zero' moments for teams as the racing played out like a game of snakes and ladders. «We had many good moments but tactically it was really hard» Nathalie said after racing. With a balanced scorecard we entered the final day of racing in 9th place to secure not only a berth for the Medal Race, but also one of the 10 Olympic quota spots up for grabs at the championship for the 68 boats from 29 nations competing !
A smiling Mati declared it "a fantastic week ! The team feels really strong and ready to work harder and harder!" Our team ended the week on a high convincingly winning the Medal Race which was held stadium style in front of a local crowd of over 6000 people and broadcast live around the World !
While a spot on the starting line of the Rio 2016 Olympic has now been reserved for Switzerland, the team will still have to meet the qualification requirement of Suisse Olympic to be the chosen representatives. The Rio Olympic Test Event, and the 2015 World Championships (Denmark) both offer opportunities for Team Buhler+Brugger to secure their individual selection so the team will be looking to keep the momentum with upcoming competitions in both Abu Dhabi (WorldCup Grand finale in November) and Rio (December). 
A special thanks to our coach Sebbe Godefroid who brings a lot in our challenge. Thankyou to all of our sponsors, supporters, suppliers, family and friends!
You are all part of our team and we could not have achieved what we have done to date without you! Your continued support gives us the confidence that we can reach our goals!
Thank you! Fair Winds.
Your Team, Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger
 Fantastic pictures from helicopter, taken during the Medal race, Image (c) ISAF
Make sure to keep following along online at www.buhlerbrugger2016.ch
and on Facebook FACEBOOK BühlerBruggerRio2016
|
