Enjoying fun and success, brothers at the center of limelight

Many brothers and sisters are teamed together battling in Qingdao to achieve their Olympic dreams.

Two pairs of brothers, Jan-Peter Peckolt and Hannes Peckolt from Germany and Pietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello from Italy, are among those who are title contenders in the 49er-class medal race on Sunday.

The German duo won the bronze medal while the Italians tied for fourth.

"Sailing with my brother in the Olympic arena is very exciting," said Pietro.

Fierce competition started from the first day of 49er races on Aug 10, with all the top sailors in the class joining field, including Athens gold medalists and world's top-ranked pair Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez from Spain, and Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes from Britain, winners of the Olympic test event in Qingdao last year.

Racing was intense, but "the stress is important - it helps you maintain concentration," said Pietro. "It is important to focus the stress toward a positive result."

"Our strength is that we are brothers," he added. "We know what is going on with the other all the time, and the coordination between skipper and crew is the most important thing."

When the two started their sailing career together, Pietro, four years younger, was a green hand. Only his strong elder brother knew how to manage the boat at that time.

The 32-year-old Gianfranco remains the skipper while 28-year-old Pietro serves as crew, following his brother's orders and advice on the boat.

They have grown both professionally and personally in their pursuit of the 2008 Olympic goals.

At the very beginning, the brothers didn't have a real coach, but their father, who sailed in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, gave them advice.

Talking about their love for 49er, the brothers said: "the skiff is so attractive to us - you must have both speed and coordination to control it. Sailing on that kind of boat is really exciting. It is our favorite class we ever sailed.

"49er races are fast and technical, so keeping the boat under control really challenges us.

"It is most important to find fun in training and competition," noted the brothers.

"For us, sailing a lot of hours with a brother is a kind of enjoyment not many people have."