Portsmouth, R.I. (April 22, 2004) – Just two months ago, Tornado sailors John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) won their third opportunity to represent the USA at the Olympic Games. Since then, they have embarked on a busy training and competition schedule that has already paid big dividends. The pair won the 53-boat Tornado class at the Princess Sofia Regatta the first week of April. That 10-race series, sailed in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was a warm-up for the Tornado World Championship. The World Championships were held April 10-18 and counted 62 entries from 24 nations in the final qualifying event for the Athens Olympic Regatta. Lovell and Ogletree won the Silver Medal with a performance that included winning two races in the nine-race series. The next stop for these Tornado sailors is Semaine Olympique Francaise, in Hyeres, France. That regatta gets underway this week.

To provide detailed information on all the athletes who will compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, the Olympic Sailing Committee has unveiled a new online website. Learn more about Lovell and Ogletree, and all the members of the USA’s Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams, by visiting: www.ussailing.org/Olympics/OlympicGames/2004/