Yatching: Kevin Lim’s Road to Beijing

Let’s include Malaysian Kevin Lim among the list of athletes who have some issues (okay, gripes) against their country’s sports officials. His unsure road to Beijing looks like this:

1. The Malaysian Yatching Association did not register anyone for the last yatching Olympic qualifying event held in Australia

2. Kevin, acting on his own, pleads with the organizers to accept his registration

3. He earns an Olympic slot when he placed 15th overall. In effect, Malaysia also earns a slot to the Olympics

4. He has been training for the Beijing Olympics ever since he qualified

5. The MYA announces that it will hold a selection sail-off to pick the country’s representative. [It turns out that for Olympic sailing, the national association has a right to name any sailor to fill a qualified spot, which need not be the sailor who earned the spot.]

6. The selection event is scheduled in June which, according to Kevin, will “compromise any athlete’s ability to peak again two months later during the Olympics”.

If the MYA insists on its selection sail-off, Kevin has to overcome another hurdle before he makes it to Beijing. Maybe he won’t make it at all.

We don’t know about you but we kinda feel for the guy here; he was the one who qualified after all.