Rogers and Green (GBR) End Olympic Quest

Two-time Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers has decided to end his quest for the gold medal at London 2012.
Rogers, 33, won silver in 2004 and 2008 in the 470 class with partner Joe Glanfield and aimed to go one step further with new team-mate Pom Green.

However, a frustrating regatta season and time constraints have forced the pair to call time on their London bid.
"Juggling responsibilities that we didn't have in our twenties has made it harder," said Rogers.

The pair, who won the 1995 Youth Sailing World Championships, retire with immediate effect and will not join their Great Britain team-mates at the 470 World Championships in the Netherlands on 12 July.

"We're best friends and it's been fantastic sailing with Pom again," said Rogers. "He's brought a lot of insight and experience to the campaign.

"Our goal was gold but it's just too much of a tall order in the time we have."

Their retirement comes on the eve of the 470 World Championships, starting in The Hague on Monday but apart from a podium place at the North American Championships at Miami at the start of the year, results have been way below expectations.

Relative to the glory years between 2004 and 2008 when Rogers and Glanfield were frequently in the top three in the world, recent results saw them drop to 16th in the 470 Worlds last year and 35th in the Europeans.

With two years to go before the 2012 Olympics start in Weymouth, they realised there was too much to do and not enough time if they were to succeed in winning a gold medal.

Rogers will now coach dinghy sailors and pursue other competitive sailing projects, while Green will return to yacht construction.

"It's been a great experience" said Green. "It's the end of an era for Nick and disappointing for me too but we both feel that to be successful in other areas of our lives something had to give."

RYA Olympic Manager Stephen Park said: "It's disappointing to be losing Nick and Pom from the programme – especially as Nick's experience and lively personality have been a big part of Skandia Team GBR for such a long time now. But Olympic classes sailing is a punishing game, and I understand and respect the decision that they have come to after what's been a frustrating season for them.

"Although we'd much rather have Nick involved in the squad, there is some pleasure in having someone who's grown and developed through the RYA's talent pathway – from junior level right through to the Olympic podium – now looking to make his way in the professional world of big boat sailing."

Source: RYA and Kate Laven
Image: Nick Rogers and Pom Green at the 2009 470 World Championships © Thom Touw