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| CATCHING UP WITH PETER GILMOUR |
Peter Gilmour holds the Swedish Match Tour championship trophy in front of his new BMW 545i Touring. (Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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Peter Gilmour (front) and Rod Dawson peer out the windows of the BMW 545i Touring awarded for winning the Swedish Match Tour championship. (Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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The 2004-`05 Swedish Match Tour champions: Kazuhiko Sofuku, Mike Mottl, Peter Gilmour, Yasuhiro Yaji and Rod Dawson (from left) of the Pizza-La Sailing Team. (Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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Peter Gilmour (left) and Ed Baird, first and second for the 2004-`05 Swedish Match Tour. (Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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By SEAN McNEILL
The Swedish Match Tour has never had a repeat champion. Until now. And it couldn’t have a more worthy one.
Peter Gilmour became the Tour’s first repeat champion when he defeated Ed Baird 2-1 in the Quarterfinal Round of the Swedish Match Cup.
Gilmour trailed Baird by 23 points at the start of 2005, but they entered the eighth and final stage tied for the championship. Gilmour pulled it out by finishing 2-1-1-1 in the second half of the sixth Tour season (final Swedish Match Tour standings).
One day later Gilmour went on to win his sixth Swedish Match Cup title when he and the Pizza-La Sailing Team (Rod Dawson, Mike Mottl, Kazuhiko Sofuku and Yasuhiro Yaji) defeated Magnus Holmberg’s Victory Challenge crew (Anders Dahlsjo, Lars Linger, Oskar Ljung and Mattias Rahm) 3-2 in a thrilling finale. Gilmour previously won in 1994, ’95, ’97, ’98, and ’99.
The double wins, which earned the Pizza-La team about $95,000 in prize money and a BMW 545i Touring (valued at $85,000), culminated the 10-year sponsorship from Pizza-La, the Japanese gourmet pizza company.
LISTEN TO PETER GILMOUR ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE AFTER WINNING HIS SIXTH SWEDISH MATCH CUP CHAMPIONSHIP (3m:30s)
Gilmour is best known for his America’s Cup and match-racing exploits. He has been in a Cup syndicate since helming the 12-Meter Kookaburra in the 1987 Cup match. He is the Swedish Match Tour’s career victories leader with eight wins, including six in the past two years (Swedish Match Tour Honor Roll).
His private life, however, is less obvious. The 45-year-old lives in Perth, Western Australia, with his wife Christine and three sons. Gilmour and Christine have been married since 1988, but they started dating when Gilmour was 18 years old. His sons David (14), Samuel (12) and Lachy (8) are keen sailors.
When Gilmour’s at home he is “caretaker” of the family farm that has “800 heads of cattle and a few thousand sheep.” He’s also an active equities trader, investing in both public and private companies.
Gilmour discussed sailing, life and family in a candid interview the morning after the Swedish Match Cup awards ceremony.
What does “match-racing” mean to you?
Match-racing means close competitive combat with a team of people you really enjoy being on the water with.
What does “sailing” mean?
Sailing is my life. It’s the sport that I enjoy. It’s the sport that I also work at. It’s the blurry line between your vocation and your hobby.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My uncompromising, hard-driving style.
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Honesty.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Warmth.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My vagueness.
Which living person do you most admire?
Nelson Mandela.
In which country would you like to live?
The United States.
What is your favorite book?
It’s Not About the Bike, by Lance Armstrong.
What is it that you most dislike?
Situations where change cannot be implemented.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Be a better sailor.
What is your definition of a hero?
Somebody that has the ability to do something where they’re not seeking adulation, where they’re doing something outstanding and the work they do is not obvious.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Probably my share trading.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
You know?
When and where are you happiest?
At home with the family watching the children develop.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
We’d have a daughter.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
There have been several, but probably the work I did with the Japanese and getting them up to world championship level.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I don’t think there is such a thing. Perfection you can only ever seek to strive for, but happiness is just being.
What is your greatest fear?
Extreme uncertainty in terms of something that you don’t know is there.
What is your current state of mind?
Foggy.
What is your motto?
Live the moment for now. Don’t play in fast forward, don’t play in rewind.
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RELATED CONTENT
Easy as Pie (profile of Pizza-La Sailing Team)
Gilmour, Pizza-La Team Win Money Match (July 9, 2005)
Tour Championship On Line Tomorrow (July 8, 2005)
Rankings Roundup (July 3, 2005)
Gilmour Clinches Swedish Match Tour (June 2, 2004)
Swedish Match Cup Summary
Swedish Match Cup Photo Gallery
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