Jeju, Korea ? Bernard Luttmer of Toronto, ON placed 11th in the Laser Olympic Class at the World Championship Regatta, held September 10 to 20, 2006. This grade one event (highest ranking next to the Olympics) attracted over 128 pre-qualified competitors from across the globe and consisted of seven races taking place over six days.
Bernard?s results over the series consisted of a 9, 7, 21, 8, 6, 5 and 42 ? points totaling 56 as each competitor only counts his top six scores. Bernard?s scores were pretty consistent considering the range of sailing conditions. The 42nd in the last race was sailed following a typhoon. This six day event brought conditions ranging from very light winds to typhoon conditions. ?The athletes who did well at this regatta demonstrated their versatility. Bernard managed the conditions well.? said National Team Coach Tommy Wharton.
?I?m happy with my 11th place. Although, placing 42nd in the last race was a huge disappointment. I was hoping to discard my 21st place finish. And my poor performance in the last race made this impossible. But an 11th place finish is a good finish for me.? Bernard said.
A top 16 finish at the World Championships guarantees the athletes support from Sport Canada for two years. Sport Canada funding, a monthly stipend designated to cover the athletes living expenses, is extremely important to the athlete for not only financial reasons but also for National Team status. But, this in no way covers the cost involved in an Olympic Campaign, as the burden is on the athlete, to come up with their own additional support.
?This definitely eases my financial stress. I?m hoping this will help me generate some additional sponsorship dollars. We also have a private Foundation, the P.J. Phelan Sailing Foundation, and their goal is medal performance in 2008. I should hopefully get some support from them as well.? Bernard says.
Following this, Bernard heads back home to Toronto for some rest before he goes out West to participate in his Canadian National Championships in Vancouver on English Bay.
The Laser Class is the men?s single-handed dinghy introduced in 1996 at the Savannah Olympic Games.
For results visit; http://www.laserworld2006.com/
About Bernard Luttmer
At the age of 12, Bernard began racing the Optimist dinghy. He developed quickly and represented Canada at the 1993 Optimist World Championships in Spain, his first international event. The next move was into the Laser 2?s at the RCYC junior club, teaming up with fellow club sailor Gordon Cook. To follow his Olympic dreams, at age 17, he moved into the Olympic Laser class. For the past seven years he has been training in the Laser with the High Performance Team at RCYC. He has competed for Canada at the Laser Worlds seven times. In 2000 he placed 3rd at the Canadian Olympic Trials narrowly missing a berth for the games in Australia. Four years later Bernard found himself on top and having been selected to the Canadian Olympic Team for Athens. He now strives for medal performance in 2008.
