While Barbara Kendall was more than happy with her silver medal from Atlanta, the public had expected gold, and this caused her to feel she’d failed. A naturally optimistic person, she suffered disappointment for many months.
As a break from windsurfing, Barbara and Shayne Bright started building a new kitset home on their four-acre block on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The following year, in 1997, she took on roles with the Hillary Commission (now Sport New Zealand) and as Yachting New Zealand’s (YNZ) Youth Windsurfing Coach.
Barbara returned to competitive windsurfing at several overseas regattas with good results, including a third in the 1997 Mistral Worlds in Perth. Given this, she decided to try for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and in 1998, she and Shayne set up a base in Sydney to learn the local sailing conditions.
With the physical, mental and spiritual components of toplevel windsurfing now mastered, Barbara’s results between 1998 and 1999 were outstanding. She won several national, world and pre-Olympic Championships and, if not first, was nearly always in the top three. She easily qualified for the New Zealand Olympic selection and won New Zealand Sailor of the Year twice – and the Hallberg Award for the third time. Her sponsorship situation had also improved, giving her long-suffering parents a break financially.
With massage therapist
