BEIJING 2008: Sailor Niki optimistic for honours in China

7:50am Friday 22nd August 2008

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FORMER Lymm High School pupil Niki Birrell flew out to Qingdao yesterday, Thursday, and will have help from his younger brother as he prepares for the sailing event at the Paralympic Games.

The 22-year-old does not start the SKUD 18 until September 8 but he is going to the Olympic and Paralympic venue - 300 miles south of Beijing - to get used to the sea conditions.

Niki will be joined by Epsom’s Alexandra Rickham in the two-person 18-foot keelboat but used to compete alongside brother Christian, who is a talented sailor himself and is flying out to Qingdao to provide competition in a second boat as they practise for the Paralympics.

Niki said: “We’re taking two boats and my brother is coming out with us for two-and-a-half weeks.

“He’s staying for the first four days of the Paralympic event but then he has to go home for a competition.”

The brothers started sailing together at Winsford Flash Sailing Club in the mid 1990s.

Niki said: “My dad took me down to the local club when I was nine with my brother, who was six or seven, in an old mirror. I just instantly got hooked.”

Niki and Christian were British and European junior champions in the mirror class and trained with the Olympic development squad.

But university commitments meant their partnership was broken up and Niki has since struck up a good combination with Rickham.

He said: “We only first met in November and then we had to pack the boat off to Miami in December.

“It arrived late, so we had very little time to practise before our first competition together in January.

“But we clicked straight away. That was something I was worried about because you spend a lot of time together but it’s been better than I could have expected. We get on great.

“So far things have gone exactly to plan so we’re optimistic for a medal but our goal is to win.

“Things can go wrong very easily, though. It’s my first Paralympics so you don’t know how it’s going to work out.

“Normally you train for four or five years for this but we’ve crammed it all into the space of seven months with very little time off.

“It’s a massive achievement to make it to the Paralympics.

“But a medal would make it more special.”