Kevin Hall is a veteran when it comes to media attention.  After all, he has been making headlines since he was 16 and captured his first world title – 1986 IYRU World Youth Singlehanded Sailing Champion – which was followed a year later by his win of the 1987 U.S. Youth Doublehanded Sailing Championship, as crew.  A standout career in college sailing followed, and Kevin was named a sailing All-American three times (’88, 89, ’91) while competing for Brown University.  

Then, in the fall of 1990, during his senior year at Brown, Kevin learned he had testicular cancer.  After surgery, he finished his degrees in mathematics and French literature, graduated with honors, and won the Laser North American Championship – all in 1991.  For his first bid at an Olympic berth he sailed a Finn in the 1992 Olympic Team Trials and finished eighth.  Although the cancer reappeared and resulted in two more surgeries (a major operation in December, 1992; with the third surgery in January, 1993), when he was two years recovered Kevin returned to competition.  The start of his phenomenal comeback came in March of 1995 when he beat 43 other sailors to win the Laser event at the 1995 Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Olympic Classes Regatta, which was followed by his win of the Laser North Americans in a fleet of 89 boats.

Kevin made big headlines in 1996, when he came under intense scrutiny during his second try for the Olympics, sailing in the Laser.  The testosterone which naturally occurs in humans and is essential for normal life, Kevin must receive by injection.  The flap over his administered testosterone – banned by the International Olympic Committee – and the ensuing efforts to gain a waiver for him to compete were distractions that contributed to his fifth-place finish at the ’96 Olympic Trials.

Less than a year later Kevin had switched not only to a different boat, but also to a different position, in his Olympic quest.  As crew for Morgan Larson, they pooled their considerable individual talents to take on the newest Olympic class -- the 49er – which would make its debut in Sydney.  Over the next four years the pair would win the bronze medal three times at the 49er World Championships (’99, ’98, ’97), along with the North American Championship title in 1999, only to finish second at the 2000 Olympic Team Trials.

After a stint of America’s Cup sailing, Kevin resumed sailing the Finn within the past year – a testament to the strength and talent that has always made him a fierce competitor.  After winning the first four races at the 2004 Trials to take a commanding lead in the 23-boat Finn fleet, Kevin would cross the finish line first an additional five times, including the 16^th and final race of the series – which he did not have to sail as he had mathematically secured his win of the Trials.

Now 34 years old, Kevin, like another well-known cancer survivor -- cycling super-hero Lance Armstrong, has proven that persistence does have its rewards.

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