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In a sport where the difference between success and failure often comes down to the smallest of margins, the search for a competitive advantage is never-ending.
Fortunately for the NZL Sailing Team, it has two of the best-equipped partners to help it achieve this edge.
Alex Anastasiou, a performance and technique analyst from High Performance Sport New Zealand, has been working with the country’s top Olympic sailors for the past few years.
The NZL Sailing Team has also been partnered with sailing technology giant B&G since 2022.
The results have been impressive, as underlined by the team’s recent Olympic success in France, where Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie won silver in the men’s skiff (49er), and Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson claimed bronze in the mixed multihull (Nacra 17).
Anastasiou played a key role in the lead-up to, and during, the event in Marseille, helping the team to understand the Olympic venue better.
He did this by implementing systems and processes to gather necessary information about the venue, using various data streams to help build a picture of what would be essential to winning boat races there.
“Like many other Olympic sports, the data available to us is extensive. I focus mainly on two key data streams: data from the sailors’ boats, such as GPS-based speed and distance metrics, and data from the coaches’ boats, which provides environmental insights like wind speed and direction,” Anastasiou said.
“The competitive advantage lies in synthesising this data into meaningful insights for our coaches and sailors, helping them make informed decisions to enhance their performance.”
With New Zealand competing in nine of the 10 available classes at the Games, Anastasiou had quite a challenge on his hands.
Performance analyst Alex Anastasiou played a key role in the NZL Sailing Team's preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games.
“It’s about finding a balance – we need systems and processes that work across all Olympic classes while also meeting specific needs at an individual level,” he explained.
“The tools we use to capture data are generally the same, but the methods may vary. For example, we might use the same GPS device across classes, but how we mount it and the specific data we choose to analyse can differ based on each class’ requirements.”
Ensuring that the data being analysed is relevant is essential.
“There is no shortage of available data, which is likely similar across nations. It is therefore essential to ensure the data is relevant, aligned with the performance questions of our coaches and sailors, and applied meaningfully within the training and competition environment,” Anastasiou said.
“The technology available within Olympic sailing is evolving. Ensuring as a team we are keeping up with the latest advancements is crucial. Innovation within the sport has focused on increasing efficiency, precision, and ease of use. New developments have led to faster workflows and more streamlined processes.
“When used effectively, technology and data can enhance the chances of winning. “Staying competitive means learning faster than the competition. With the right data, we can accelerate the learning process by providing objective insights into our sailors’ performance.”
The partnership with B&G is a critical component of the team’s success, according to Anastasiou.
The company, which has been at the forefront of sailing innovation for 50 years, develops world-leading navigation and instruments to help sailors go faster and safer. They supply Yachting New Zealand with high-tech wind gear and displays, which provide coaches and sailors with accurate and reliable information about what is happening on the water.
“B&G technology serves a consistent purpose in both training and racing scenarios: to provide objective insights into the environmental conditions that coaches and sailors experience on the water. For example, it allows coaches to monitor trends in wind speed and direction over time, helping them make informed decisions based on real-time data,” Anastasiou said.
“For technology to be truly useful, it has to meet certain key criteria: reliability, validity, sensitivity, and feasibility. B&G gear excels in all these areas, meeting each standard at an exceptionally high level.”
For more information on B&G products, click here.
