RQYS Mainsheet 2021

Postcards from Tokyo

PERSPECTIVES

For Mat Belcher, measuring the length of his hotel corridor for fitness training was only one facet of an unusual event.

“Everyone was tip-toeing around it, trying to not jinx it by mentioning ‘the other big C’, ” he said, “if the last three or four years’ prep was for nothing.” Once settled in their hotel 3km from Enoshima, the lack of distraction became a source of renewed focus: “it was all about rhythm – especially sailing – Day 1 to Day 5 was 20hrs’ competition in all, and we were just focused on competing.” Well familiar with Enoshima (no less than 15 visits since Rio 2016), in 2021 Mat saw Mt Fuji only once – “we were isolated in hotel rooms and saw others only at breakfast and dinner.’ He said the team had “exactly the same breakfast for 30 days straight – very fried egg, small yoghurt, some Western cereal, seaweed, one piece of fruit and very, very thick white bread. “My 10km training runs were done in the 84m-long ground floor corridor outside my hotel room most days.”

In a MAINSHEET exclusive, we asked Mat what was different about the Tokyo Games, with the heavy blanket of COVID-19 overlaying the months of preparation and weeks of events. The weirdest part was“seeing 2020 absolutely everywhere” – the year-long delay not worth the cost of rebranding – “you almost forgot you’re in 2021,” he said. “It was such a bubble that our psychological mindset was a big challenge. “It was hard for Will and I to really get excited – there was no ‘build-up’ rush and no spectators, no crowds, no interviews: in other Games you’re really trying to calm down, minimise social media and all the distractions,” Mat recalled. Perversely, Mat and Will had spent months deliberately trying to not get excited about a Games still in doubt.

All sailing pictures on these pages courtesy of World Sailing Images

Mainsheet 2021

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Background: ‘Enoshima in the Sagami Province’ – ca 1830-31, from Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Thirty-six views of Mt Fuji’ woodblock prints