Sailor Kevin Stittle of Orangeville admits to still being haunted by his fourth-place finish in the Tornado class with Oakville's Oskar Johansson at the Beijing Olympics.
Unfortunately, it could be a long time until he gets a chance to exorcise that feeling after the International Sailing Federation made it official yesterday in Madrid that Tornado is being eliminated for the 2012 London Olympics. And the Yngling is being replaced by the six-metre Elliott 6 as the women's keelboat for 2012.
"I haven't spoken with a single person in the sailing community that agrees with the decision," said Stittle. "It's spread across the board with people wondering, `Why the heck did they do that?' I can only assume it was a political decision."
Johansson and Stittle are hopeful that Tornado, which was the fastest Olympic class, will return for the 2016 Summer Games, but they aren't holding their breath.
The Canadian duo won a silver at the worlds heading into the Olympics and were in striking distance of a medal through the final race.
"It's disappointing because we were so close, but at the same time we're very proud of where we came from and what we accomplished," said Johansson. "We set out to win a medal and we were there and the only one I can blame is myself. We just made a few mistakes and that's what it takes at that level to knock us out of the top three."
"I don't know how long that's going to haunt me," added Stittle. "Whether I'll think back in 20 years and think that was great or if I'll be thinking, `If only I didn't make that one mistake, things will be different.' But Beijing was incredible, a great experience for both of us to remember and cherish the rest of our lives."
Stittle is keen to continue his Olympic journey, while Johansson is now married and just starting his own business so he's not too certain. Stittle's considering returning to windsurfing.
Also losing its Olympic status was the Yngling class as the format for the women's three-crew keelboat races was changed to one-on-one match races rather than fleet races. The new class is six-metre Elliott 6, which is built by only one manufacturer in the world.
