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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.108 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Hans Fogh Interview |
Scope & Content |
Hans Fogh interview, 28 September 2006. Digitized MP4 from Sony 40 Advanced ME DVCAM. Two videos with a total viewing time of 00:52:55. 1 of 2; 00:01when he came to Canada he wanted to win an Olympic medal for Canada, it was his Canada goal, became a citizen in 1975, competed in 1976 and come 4th, decided to go forward to Los Angeles in 1984 and won a Bronze 01:28Introduction to the Hall 02:40Childhood: grew up in Denmark, sailing was a dream, something on the water what he wanted to do, started sailing at family cottage, knew he wanted to do sailing, watched competitions and knew it was what he wanted to do, his father bought a boat, he and his brother competed and won a little prize, he wanted to be a racer, worked hard to buy a little boat, able to win races, it was a thrill, dad bought him a new suit of sails and won most of his races, one of the top sailors in Denmark told him he should try for the 1960 Olympics, sailed and trained, lived on the water, all his spare time spent training; if you don't do that you are not going anywhere, commitment is the big thing, won the trials and was selected for the Danish team, he was 22 and his partner was 26, told they should go for the Gold medal, felt it was impossible but told to go full speed at it and train, sailed every spare moment, won Silver, at that time didn't really understand what they had done 08:10What makes a good sailor: commitment, dedication, lot of work, technique, practise, learn small tips, sailor has an all-round good physical shape, react quickly to wind changes; sailing is a very athletic, physical sport 09:53How did you get the boat to Rome: support mostly by own money, bought a car and put the boat on the roof, slept in the car to keep costs down, support in sailing is tough because it is not a spectator sport and support comes mostly from private sponsorship 11:21Olympic racing is a series of races, have 7 to 9 races, races each day and given score, can drop worst race, talks about the scoring system 12:28Also went to the 1964 & 1968 Olympics, hooked on sport, Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, anything could compete on water, wanted Gold in 1964, trained hard, finished 4th 13:46Came to Canada in 1969 with his family, wanted to come because he Paul Henderson the sailor, who would help him to set up his own sailmaking business, wasn't thinking about another Olympics at that time because he had to set up his business, Canada was a great country, great people; asked in 1972 to compete again for Denmark, required travelling to Europe, won a lot of championships; felt that if he wanted to compete again he would compete for Canada; wanted to compete in 1976 and finished 4th, one of the biggest disappointments in his sailing career; goal was to win a medal for Canada, had to think ahead, switched to soling class which is a 26 metre boat, thought it would fit him better, teamed up with 2 Canadians John Kerr and Steve Calder, 1980 boycott happened, had to think 4 years ahead, business going good, joined his business with an American company, had great staff so he could train for LA, went to Europe to compete, "you have to go into competition in your natural way", felt he put too much pressure on himself, talks about the 1984 games, won Bronze, goal accomplished, any Olympics with a medal is good; great feeling because had accomplished his goal, 24 years between first and last medals, a long time to be at the top in any sport, record to be proud of; got call in 1985 that he was being inducted into the HOF, very high honour 25:01After the 1984 Olympics, did you know that was going to be your last: long time competing, did go into the trials, sailed with his son, they were close to being on the team in 1996, would have been a dream come true but it didn't happen 26:46Sailors are athletes: when competing if you are not in good shape you are not going to get there; combination of good technique, getting the boat to go fast is high priority, but you don't do that without being in good shape 28:09On communication in a boat: very important that you are a team, have a team spirit; everybody must understand 29:31Technical skills: sailing skills you get by practise; technical is the hard part, sailing skills comes from hard work, can't read a book and then go out sailing 31:36Good sail from research, try different things and see what at speed is best under different conditions, he works as this, keeps notes, they sailed the LA course 2 years before the Olympics to know the course, weather, wave conditions, sails - have to prepare for this 33:43Sailing in different places: talks about a sailor from the US who sailed on one lake and won many competitions, the most important thing is to go and do it, you don't have to go around the world to sail if you practise enough in your backyard; can learn all kinds of stuff on your local lake but still sail the Olympic course the year before the games, need to prepare, good preparation wins races 35:41On sailing on Lake Ontario: sailed everywhere on the Lake, used it to prepare for Olympic sailing, talks about wind conditions throughout the year, challenging, can become the best sailor in the work on Lake Ontario but you have to do it 37:24Life lessons: tie to your life in the future if you start young, highly competitive people are dedicated, practise, set goals, as in business have to commit 100% with the product and yourself; cannot do it halfway, have to do it systematic, success is how to reach the goal 2 of 2; 00:20Why did you decide on Canada: easy country to get into, Denmark similar in seasons and climate, met a lot of Canadians in Europe including Paul Henderson who offered to help him, Canada is a great country; first 2 years was tough, missed his friends and former business, but needed to start his own business, Canada has a lot to give and plenty of room in Canada 04:20Funny story: when he was immigrating to Canada he was told that sailmakers were not needed so he came in as a skilled gardeners; now only gardens as a hobby, talks about his business 07:08Taught his son to sail 08:00Talks about corporate sponsorships not being very good, "Love of the sport makes you a champion", go out and do it as much as you can, then you become a champion, use the time to prepare yourself and become very good and get hooked on that, gives you a tremendous background you can build on and then the money kicks in; do your homework first, then other things come in; not easy; need people like Alex Baumann to lead because they have been there 11:52How many times a week were you on the water: at the beginning of his career spent roughly 15 hours, every week, all year round, plus preparing and repairing the boat, over a lifetime it makes you a champion |
Date |
2006/09/28 |
Year Range from |
1960 |
Year Range to |
2006 |
People |
Fogh, Hans |
Search Terms |
Interview Hans Fogh Sailing Denmark 1960 Olympic Games Rome 1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles World Championships |