Heiko Kroger (GER) stands beside his new 2.4 Meter and recounts the sailing history of a multiple time world champion. Kroger sailed Optimist dinghies as a child, raced Lasers for 19 years and crewed on Solings and other three-man keelboats.

 

“I was born without a forearm, but never thought of it as a disability. I learned to sail wand race just like everybody else,” said Kroger. Kroger won the 2001 Open 2.4 Meter World Championship and has been fourth in the open world championships three times.

 

He has competed in the IFDS 2.4 Meter world championships eight times and has won six times and been second twice. He also won the Gold in Sydney and was 4^th in Athens.

 

With results like that, it is no surprise that Kroger was asked to join the Lars Grael and some of the other members of the fledgling America’s Cup challenge team mostly comprised of disabled athletes.

 

“I sailed on a 40-foot racer-cruiser with a mostly Italian crew in Lovorno in 2006. They invited me to sail with them again last year, but it conflicted with the IFDS world championships in Rochester. They asked me to sail with them in the Rolex Maxi Cup that is taking place this week, but it was just too close to the Paralympics,” explained Kroger about the effort to show that disabled sailors can compete on an even playing field in yachting’s most publicized and long-standing international competition.

 

“It’s not easy to compete with an all disabled crew. The next challenge will be to sail on a course. It requires strength and coordination to sail those boats. With 75% or all of the team being disabled, the race is over before it has begun because we are the winners. Everybody will be looking at us. It’s like Sosholoza. They were the rookie team in the last America’s Cup challenge series and everybody was curious about them. The America’s Cup has lost face over the past year and a half. They need good press if they want to come back to a higher level.”

 

The Argo Challenge is seeking sponsors and prospects to join the team. “There are many strong guys on the team. They are not just sailors. There are cyclists and hammer throwers. It is a great opportunity for sponsors, especially those that work with technology. For instance, we may have crew with wheelchairs and prostheses that need to be specially designed and strong. It is exciting,” said Kroger.

 

Kroger will be keeping an eye on the Argo Challenge team’s performance in Sardinia while he sizes up his competition in Qingdao.

 

He would like to add a Gold to this year’s second place finish at the Semaine Olympique Francaise and Keil Week.

 

 

Argo on Atlanta II went on to win the ORR Division of the Rolex Maxi Cup and the International Maxi Class gave the boat and crew a special award for their sportsmanship and the universal message that they are trying to convey.

 

Given the state of the America’s Cup and the warm reception that they had in Porto Cervo, the Argo Challenge has decided to sail half a dozen big boat races during 2009. “We have momentum and we don’t want to lose it,” said Antonio Spinelli, President of the Argo Challenge.

 

Argo Challenge is hoping that there is an owner of a Mini Maxi or other high performance big boat out there who may be willing to donate his or her boat, or think creatively about making donations to the 2009 effort and more.