Canadian’s Laser quest no breeze
London letdown fuels Oakville sailor Parkhill — buoyed by trial runs
After just missing out on the 2012 London Olympics, it took Lee Parkhill a year to decide to try again for Rio.
The Oakville sailor had been an underdog in men’s Laser, the one-man dinghy event. Then he finished a surprising fifth at a World Cup race in Melbourne, raising hopes right before the pair of events that would determine Canada’s lone London entry in the discipline.
“I was excited to do the trials. I really thought I had a chance to go to those Olympics,” Parkhill said in a recent interview at the Oakville Yacht Squadron club, where he learned the ropes as a kid.
In the end, he finished third in those trials, and the weight of the disappointment was felt by his family You realize going into it there is only one representative from each country that qualifies . . . but I felt bad for him. I felt really bad for him,” said his father, Allan. “It was heartbreaking, it really was.”
Now 27 and a new dad — Parkhill and wife Alex welcomed daughter Emma in April — he thought long and hard before deciding to try again. With more experience under his belt, he was considered the favourite to qualify this time. A personal-best fourth-place finish at a June World Cup event in Weymouth, England — results over a 12-month span determine the selection — sealed it.
“For a second it was kind of a relief, just knowing I was going,” he said. “I celebrated for a little, but at the same time it happened so close to the Olympics it was kind of just a stepping stone.”
Back home in Oakville, his focus turned to Rio. It was a lot to take in: “It’s still kind of surreal that I’ve qualified for the Olympics.”
There will be five two-race days of competition — including a 10-boat medal round — between Aug. 8 and 16 and Parkhill already has some local knowledge of the five Olympic courses. He took part in three train- ing camps in Rio over the past two years, most recently in early July.
Water quality is a big concern for Rio-bound athletes, but Parkhill said no one he knew got sick at the camps. As for other issues including the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has led many athletes to skip the Games, Parkhill put them into perspective.
“For me, this Olympics is the pinnacle of my career,” he said. “That’s been the end goal all the time. Once you qualify and you know you have the privilege to represent Canada, it starts to quickly outweigh all those negatives. You just try and take them off your mind, not think about them and hope that authorities will do their part and take care of it and keep you safe.”
The light-wind conditions in Rio suit his sailing style. Parkhill excels at the strategic side rather than the brute strength required in windier situations. He finished second and third in Rio trial runs, competing against many of the 46 boats that will make up the largest sailing fleet at this year’s Games.
“I’m crossing my fingers that we get those conditions again,” he said.
While Parkhill, ranked 17th in the world, called those top-three finishes “definitely an over-performance,” he considers himself a medal contender if the wind cooperates.
“If the week goes well, especially with what I did at the last training camp, there’s no reason that I can’t be standing on top of the podium and be getting (Canada’s) first gold medal for sailing.”
Parkhill’s parents, Allan and Laurie, will be there, just like his junior days.
“They were partially my coaches and support team back then. They’re still just as involved now — still my No. 1 fans, for sure,” he said.
Dad Allan said just getting to Rio is the big deal — but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t like to see his son on a podium come mid-August.
“A medal,” he said, “would be awesome.”