MARA IN FINAL STAGES OF INTENSE TRAINING FOR POSTPONED TOKYO OLYMPICS
Our island Olympian, Mara Stransky, has been down in Sydney for several weeks putting the final touches to her intense training for the Tokyo Olympics starting in July.
Mara will be representing Australia in the Laser sailing division at the postponed 2020 Olympics which will be now held from July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo; one year after the original date due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her dad, Andrew Stransky, has kept The Friendly Bay Islander informed and says Mara has used her position as the selected Olympic Laser athlete to lobby for more support for her squad team members.
This resulted in three very strong training partners and five more up-and-coming young girls made available for some intense and competitive training sessions.
Andrew says all have improved quite a lot over the past year and Mara has had to battle very hard to beat the youngsters in regattas.
“Each of them has particular strong points. The WA girls are fast downwind; the Victorian girls are fast upwind in stronger breezes; and the lighter youth girls can be very fast in light winds,” Andrew said.
As a result, Mara has experienced probably the best competition domestically in these Covid times of any Australian Olympic sailing class.
On a recent weekend she contested the Sailing Champions League with a team from her club the RQYS, hoping to qualify for a place in the world series.
Andrew and Carolyn Stransky are currently in Bowen aboard their family yacht Fantasy ll, where Andrew is racing the Queensland State Laser champs and also taking something of a holiday.
They intend to be back on the islands for the big golfing event at the Bay Islands Golf Club on May 30 that has been organised by Rhonda Chapman to raise funds for Mara’s Olympic campaign.
• Mara Stransky with her latest awards just prior to the Toktyo Olympics.