by Remco Sol, National Coach / Team Manager of Paralympic Sailing Team.
 
Day 1: Thierry makes a good start and is in third place twice. Given the enormous wind swings and very squally weather conditions, a very good performance. Boat speed is very good, but the top four are very close together. Personally, all is going well for Thierry, he feels good and is clearly ready for the days to come. Overall, Thierry is now in 3^rd place.

Day 2: Thierry starts the day well, despite the many changes in wind direction and stretches to be sailed with the wind on the quarter, instead of windward legs, but he finishes the 3^rd race in 2^nd place. In the 4th race the wind swings are even greater, and Thierry ultimately finishes 6th, but is placed 7^th. After the judges were asked to check this, it is found that the results were wrongly processed and Thierry is still awarded his 6th place. Thierry is now overall in 4th position, but there is very little between the first 4 and with another 5 races to go it is still wide open. Tomorrow (Monday) the 2.4 mR has a day’s rest. That means cleaning up the boat and preparing everything for the final 3 days. The mood among the whole team is good and, apart from a bit of well-earned fun, there is serious hard work. The top 5 in both classes is very strong and, with the frequently changing conditions, the field is changing all the time. This is going to be difficult for everyone.

Day 3: For Thierry a day of rest today. Time to have a lie-in, linger over breakfast and then clean the boat. Three days in this salt water at high temperatures and the boat is already fouled. Teflon wax or anything else can do nothing to prevent this. After the boat has been cleaned, off with Han to the hotel for a swim, a nap and a rest. The next three days are going to be very demanding. Tomorrow in particular is probably going to be very demanding, because very little wind is expected. He is in a very good mental state and with little wind Thierry can go very fast, so that gives extra self-confidence.

Day 4: This is an important day for Thierry. Is he going to be able to make the first three in the intermediate ranking, or will he be just outside? The day begins with a postponement and waiting for wind. Good opportunity while waiting to kill time with an interview for the Telegraaf newspaper. After an hour of waiting, the time has come and they can set sail. In race 5 Thierry does well and finishes in 3^rd place. In race 6 the positions shift to and fro a lot. Thierry finally finishes 5th, but there is a protest against GER, and that can make a difference of one place. In the end the protest is not settled until 8pm, but it does go in our favour. GER has received a DSQ and Thierry moves up a place in race 6, to 4^th position. The gap between him and the competitor in 2nd place in the ranking is reduced by one point again and some leeway is created with the number four position. All in all, a very good starting position for the last 2 days. He feels good, and his speed is also good. Roll on the last 3 races!

Day 5: Because the organised transport really does leave something to be desired, we are fortunate in having the use of two cars today. That is much easier on the nerves, so that the team does not have to worry so much, since we now know for sure that we can be at the harbour within half an hour, instead of spending an hour and twenty minutes getting there. Most of the bus drivers who have taken us there until now needed directions from us on how to find the harbour, because they themselves had never been out of the town... So with the car now, our minds are at rest and it is good for the morale. Today is to be a crucial day. Thierry starts off reasonably well with his 7th race. The field has been nicely shaken up as regards the placing order. In the end he just squeezes into 4th place. The 8th race goes completely by the book. Right from the start he dominates the field and nobody is allowed past now! The result is that Thierry just squeezes into first place, and overall is placed third. The erratic sailing of the others puts Thierry in bronze medal position (can no longer be overtaken by the GER in 4^th place), but anything can happen tomorrow. Silver or even gold is absolutely still on the cards. Positions 1 and 2 have the same number of points and were already watching each other today, instead of keeping an eye on the overall picture. If they do that tomorrow again, Thierry has a chance of racing ahead, and then we shall have to see whether he can make up more than 3 points.

Day 6: Calm conditions today. The wind does not go above 5 knots. Difficult for a tactical game with the Sonar, but good conditions for Thierry; he is very fast in mild conditions, so there is every chance. Today everything is different from usual. The wind does not shift to the left as forecast, but scuds through to the right on the starting shot. 2.4mR: Thierry has a difficult race, and tries everything, but the unpredictable wind directions mean that good progress is immediately turned into lost ground again. In the end he did well, because the USA only came 10^th in this race, which shows how difficult it was.
Thierry closes this paralympic series with a well-earned bronze medal, a place which ended for the several times world champion from Germany. FRA and USA clearly did a little better, and here lies the challenge for the future. Considering that Thierry has actually been only seriously involved in competitive sailing for three years, this bronze medal is all the more remarkable. Thierry’s success is due mainly to his indomitable will, his knowledge of wind, water and shipping, and the many hours of training he has put in.