Mitch Booth

Mitch Booth

Personal information
Full name	Mitchell Jay "Mitch" Booth
Nickname(s)	'The Old Guy'
Nationality	Dutch
Born	(1963-01-04) 4 January 1963 Sydney, Australia
Height	1.69 m (5.5 ft)
Class(es)	Tornado
Club	Pittwater ; Rotterdamsche Zeilvereeniging
Competition record Competitor for  Australia Olympic Games Bronze 1992 Barcelona Tornado Silver 1996 Savannah Tornado Competitor for  Netherlands Olympic Games 2004 Athens Tornado 2008 Qingdao Tornado World Championships Bronze 2003 Tornado European Championships Silver 2002 Tornado Gold 2004 Tornado Bronze 2005 Tornado
Updated on 12 February 2014.

Mitchell Jay "Mitch" Booth (born 4 January 1963, in Sydney) is a sailor from the Australia,^[1] who represented his native country for the first time at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Booth as helmsman in the Australian Tornado with John Forbes as crew took Bronze. In 1996, Savannah Booth made a second appearance this time with crew member Andrew Landenberger the team took the Silver in the Tornado. In 2004, Athens Booth represented the Netherlands as helmsman of the Dutch Tornado.^[2][3] With crew member Herbert Dercksen Booth took 5th place.^[4] His final Olympic appearance came during the 2008 Summer Olympics^[5] in Qingdao. Now with crew member Pim Nieuwenhuis in the Dutch Tornado, Booth finished 5th.^[6]

Sailing career

Booth started his sailing career at the age of four, when his mother thought him the basics on Pittwater. Alongside his father he won his first State Championship as a seven-year-old boy. His desire to skipper and compete in international competitions grew and his first break-through came at the age of seventeen, when finishing second in an Australian Championship. This achievement guaranteed his participation at the World Championship in the United States. From a fleet of over hundred boats representing nine countries, he and his crew went on to win the title. Since then Booth has made his life as a professional sailor. The projects have varied from Olympic sailing to Ocean racing and to keel boat racing. Off the water he has been involved in many sailing related activities including the creation of the current Olympic Tornado Class Rig, design and build of A Class cats, the creation of Volvo Extreme 40, sailing Manager for America’s cup team (1995) and technical adviser to ISAF.

In total he took part in 64 World Championships, becoming World Champion a total of ten times. In the 50 national championships in which he took part he took the title a total of 13 times. He has won 23 out of 47 Australian State Championships in which he performed. He won eight European titles since becoming Dutch in sixteen starts. He took part in four Olympics. In Sydney 2000 he was coach of the Australian national team squad.

Awards & Records

He has been named the 1992 Australian Yachtsman of the Year, the 1993 Caltex Sports Star finalist, three times NSW Yachtsman of the Year, the 1995 America's Cup sailing manager, the 1996 MMI Sports Star finalist, the 1996 Australian Yachtsman of the Year and the 2004 Dutch Sailor of the year. He was also crew member of the boats holding the previous World 24-hour distance record and Transatlantic (Cadiz to San Salvador) record holder (ClubMed) and the current Round Britain and Ireland record (PlayStation (yacht)).^[7][8]

Further reading

2004 Olympics (Athens)

• Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad Homecoming of the Games – Organisation and Operations (PDF). ATHENS 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games S.A. 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad The Games (PDF). ATHENS 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games S.A. 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 

2008 Olympics (Qingdao)

• Official Report of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games • Volume I • Bid Documents and Analysis: Passion behind the Bid (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Report of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games • Volume II • Ceremonies and Competitions: Celebration of the Games (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Report of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games • Volume III • Preparation for the Games: New Beijing Great Olympics (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Results Book • Volume I (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Results Book • Volume II (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 
• Official Results Book • Volume III (PDF). Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014. 

References

1992 Australian Olympic Sailing Team Lechner A-390 Female Surfer: Fiona Cynthia Taylor Lechner A-390 Male Surfer: Lars Kleppich Europe Female Helmsman: Christine Lynda Bridge Finn Helmsman: Glenn Bourke 470 Female Helmsman: Jennifer Norton Lidgett Crew: Addy Elizabeth Bucek 470 Male No Australian Representation Flying Dutchman No Australian Representation Tornado Helmsman: Mitch Booth Crew: John Forbes Star Helmsman: Colin Beashel Crew: David Giles Soling Helmsman: William Layland Hodder Crew: Tim Dorning Michael Guy Mottl

1996 Australian Olympic Sailing Team Mistral One Design Female Surfer: Maud Herbert Mistral One Design Male Surfer: Brendan Todd Europe Female Helmsman: Christine Bridge Laser Helmsman: Michael Blackburn Finn No Australian Representation 470 Female Helmsman: Jennifer Lidgett Crew: Addy Bucek 470 Male Helmsman: Tom King Crew: Owen Mcmahon Tornado Helmsman: Mitch Booth Crew: Andrew Landenberger Star Helmsman: Colin Beashel Crew: David Giles Soling Helmsman: Matt Hayes Crew: Steve Jarvin Magnus Holmberg

<2000 2004 Dutch Olympic Sailing Team 2008> Women's sailboard No Dutch Representation Men's sailboard Surfer: Joeri van Dijk Europe Female Helmsman: Carolijn Brouwer Laser No Dutch Representation Finn Helmsman: Jaap Zielhuis 470 Female Helmsman: Lisa Westerhof Crew: Margriet Matthijsse 470 Male Helmsman: Sven Coster Crew: Kalle Coster 49er No Dutch Representation Tornado Helmsman: Mitch Booth Crew: Herbert Dercksen Yngling Female Helmsman: Annelies Thies Crew: Annemieke Bes Petronella de Jong Star Helmsman: Mark Neeleman Crew: Peter van Niekerk Officials Unknown Team size Female: 6 Male: 8 Officials: 0 Total: 14 Medals 01 !: 0 02 !: 0 03 !: 0 Total: 0 Reference "Zeilteam-Thies plaatst zich maar nipt voor Athene". De Volkskrant. 2004-05-17. Retrieved 2014-02-11.

<2004 2008 Dutch Olympic Sailing Team 2012> Women's sailboard No Dutch Representation Men's sailboard Surfer: Casper Bouman Laser Radial No Dutch Representation Laser Helmsman: Rutger van Schaardenburg Finn Helmsman: Pieter-Jan Postma 470 Female Helmsman: Marcelien de Koning Crew: Lobke Berkhout 470 Male Helmsman: Sven Coster Crew: Kalle Coster 49er No Dutch Representation Tornado Helmsman: Mitch Booth Crew: Pim Nieuwenhuis Yngling Female Helmsman: Mandy Mulder Crew: Annemieke Bes Merel Witteveen Star No Dutch Representation Officials Technical supervisor: Jaap Zielhuis Coach: Jacco Koops Finn coach: Cees Scheurwater Yngling coach: Maurice Paardekoper Team size Female: 5 Male: 7 Officials: 4 Total: 16 Medals 01 !: 0 02 !: 2 03 !: 0 Total: 2 Reference "Stromingsinformatie voor zeilploeg". De Gelderlander. Retrieved 2014-02-12.