|
 Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree
have been a team so long, it seems like they were born to it. Which may
not be too far off the mark considering they share the same birthday, a
fact that came to light when a bouncer in a bar was convinced they were
carrying fake IDs. As it turned out they were born an hour apart on the
11th of October, 1967. They have a shared chemistry that has
kept them sailing together for over a decade and Johnny has acknowledged
their great friendship as the thing that makes their efforts on the
water pay off.
Johnny, along with his siblings, was introduced to the sport by his
father, John Lovell II, and he credits his father as being the most
influential person on his athletic career, "he started me sailing at an
early age and has supported me ever since."
Johnny attended the College of Charleston, where he was an ICSA
All-American all four years, graduating in 1990. His professional
career has been spent working for the familys CPA business Lovell and
Co. with its supportive boss.
Members of the US Sailing Team for the past 11 years, Johnny and Charlie
have won countless championship titles. All along their biggest rivals
in the U.S. were the team of Lars Guck and Jonathan Farrar. At both the
1996 and 2000 US Olympic Team Trials, the final race was the deciding
one that sent Johnny and Charlie to the Olympics. In 2004, Johnny and
Charlie won the 16-race Trials series -- held over nine days -- with
one race to spare. When racing concluded they noted that Lars and
Jonathan were strong adversaries. Johnny and Charlie felt that putting
a little distance on that pair "offered the hope that we're improving."
Johnny heads to the 2004 Olympic Regatta looking to improve on the
seventh place finish the pair earned at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. At
their first Olympic Regatta, sailed in Savannah in 1996, they finished
eighth out of 20 Tornado teams. Their hard work looks to be paying
off: at the warm-up for the world championship, they won Tornado event
at the Princess Sofia Championship in Mallorca.
Just the Facts:
|
NAME: |
Johnny Lovell |
|
CLASS: |
Tornado |
|
POSITION: |
Skipper |
|
US SAILING TEAM: |
1993-2004 |
|
MEMBER OF: |
Southern Yacht
Club |
|
HIGH SCHOOL: |
Newman High
School, graduated 1985 |
|
COLLEGE: |
College of
Charleston, graduated 1990, Finance/Management |
|
BIRTHDATE: |
11 October 1967 |
|
BIRTHPLACE: |
Baton Rouge, La. |
|
HOMETOWN: |
New Orleans, La. |
|
HEIGHT: |
58 |
|
OCCUPATION: |
Certified Public Accountant |
|
SAILING SINCE
AGE: |
11 |
|
SIGNIFICANT
ACHIEVEMENTS: |
2004 Tornado
World Silver Medallist
2003 Tornado Kiel Week Champion
Two-Time
Olympian (96, 2000)
Inter-Collegiate All-American (86, 87, 89, 90)
Tornado North American Champion (96)
Tornado National Champion (93, 95, 96, 98, 2000) |
|
SAILING RESUME: |
2004
SPA Regatta, The Netherlands (4th/28 Tornados)
Hyeres Week, France (2nd/18 Tornados)
Tornado World Championship, Spain (2nd/62 boats)
Princess Sofia, Spain (1st/52 Tornados)
2003
Tornado World Championship, Spain (9th/72 boats)
2002
Tornado Europeans, Portugal (17th/54 boats)
Tornado Nationals, Dunedin, Fla. (7th/19 boats)
Hyeres, France (12th/47 Tornados)
Rolex Miami OCR, Fla. (3rd/18 Tornados)
2001
Tornado Nationals, Miami (3rd/15 boats)
Tornado North Americans, Houston (4th/14 boats)
2000
Tornado Olympic Trials, Santa Cruz (1st/18 boats)
Tornado Nationals, Cabrillo Beach (1st/20 boats)
Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, Fla. (1st/12 Tornados)
Tornado World Champs, Australia (16th/74 boats)
1999
IBM Sydney Harbour Regatta, Australia (5th/17 Tornados)
Tornado North Americans, Kingston, Canada (2nd/22 boats)
Tornado World Championship, Denmark (10th/78 boats)
Kiel Week, Germany (16th/68 Tornados)
SPA, Holland (8th/35 Tornados)
Tornado Olympic Pre-Trials, Santa Cruz, CA (1st/10 boats)
Miami OCR (2nd/19 Tornados)
1998
Tornado World Championships, Brazil (10th/77 boats)
Sydney Harbour Regatta, Australia (14th/16 Tornados)
Tornado Nationals, Newport, RI (1st/20 boats)
CORK, Canada (3rd/26 Tornados)
Miami OCR (2nd/15 Tornados)
SPA, Holland (12th/37 Tornados --top American)
European Champs, Greece (23rd/55 Tornados--top American)
1997
Tornado World Championship, Bermuda (13th/62 boats)
Tornado European Champs (14th/57 boats)
1996
Olympic Games, Savannah (8th/19 Tornados)
Tornado Olympic Trials, Savannah (1st/17 boats)
Tornado Australian Nationals (2nd/60 boats)
Tornado World Champs, Australia (15th/68 boats) |
|
