STRONG winds have blown masses of algae back into Qingdao's waters and forced fisherman, the Chinese navy and volunteers to again pull the "green carpet" out of the sea.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Michael Jones, the manager of Australia's Olympic sailing team, said he felt sorry for the "poor buggers" who had to clean up the waters once again after the 25-knot winds of a recent storm blew the algae back in.
"The Chinese are just working so hard to make it perfect," Jones said. "It is an issue, a serious issue, but they did an amazing job to clear it up in the first half of July; 14,000 people, 300 boats out every day scraping it up. I don't know if any other country in the world would have the capacity to mobilise a human workforce like that.
"Over the weekend they had the tail end of an early season typhoon, they had a bit of a storm come through, so most of it has washed back in again. The poor buggers have to go back in and do that again.
"They had the Chinese president come down and check it out. They are paying plenty of attention to it. They'll work it out."
The sailing team left for Hong Kong yesterday for a pre-Olympics camp. Ranked No.1 in the world - the only Australian team to hold that position - the squad includes three world champions and world No.1-ranked athletes.
Since the Games in Athens, where the sailors did not win a medal, the team has improved rapidly and will go into these Games with a host of medal favourites.
Jones said his athletes were fitter and "on average" 10 kilograms lighter than they were a year ago, a big help in the expected light winds at Qingdao.
"In the past two years we've won seven world championships in different classes; at international grand prix events we've been coming home with five to six medals," he said. "From two years ago we said: 'All of that is nice but what's really important is we perform at the Olympics'.
"Most of our athletes are 10 kilos lighter. All our boats have been optimised for the light wind conditions and the strong tides in China. We are the best-prepared team we've ever sent to a Games."
Jones said the athletes also knew how to handle Qingdao's challenging conditions - on and off the water.
Such as 470-class sailor Elise Rechichi, 22, who had to deal with a severe illness after swallowing water at an Olympic test event.
She suffered severe gastric trauma which resulted in her losing more than 10 kilograms off her slight 50kg frame. Rechichi, who is competing with Tessa Parkinson in the 470s, said she felt confident heading back to Qingdao.
"Now we are really well educated on how to handle the environment in China," Rechichi said. "I've learnt from it and I haven't been sick from it on the past two trips I've made over there. I haven't even had any food problems."
The sailing team's best chances of a medal are in the Tornado class, and skipper and six-time world champion Darren Bundock and crewman Glenn Ashby are feeling confident.
They have had an unusual training schedule, as Ashby lives in Bendigo, where the nearby Lake Eppalock has been bone-dry since 2001, and Bundock is based on the NSW Central Coast.
But they have made it work, and Bundock is aiming high, saying: "I will only really be happy with a gold medal in Beijing."
