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Olympic Regatta Kicks Off

ATHENS, GREECE (August 14, 2004) -- After a long night last night for the athletes attending Opening Ceremonies at the Olympic Games, the Olympic Regatta kicked off with racing in three of the nine classes competing here: Finn, 470 (men and women) and Yngling.  Today’s best performance -- third overall -- for the U.S. squad was the 470 Men’s team of Paul Foerster (Rockwall, Texas) and Kevin Burnham (Miami, Fla.). Both are Olympic silver medallists whose maturity in age -- Burnham, 47, is the oldest on the 18-member team and Foerster is 40 -- parallels their seasoned boathandling skills and sage-like decision making.

Foerster and Burnham handily won the first race, leading at all marks after a clean start. Great Britain, which finished second, was the U.S. team’s main concern, as the wind increased enough from an original 6-8 knots to favor the setup of the other boat. "With that team increasing their speed and the wind the way it was, we just had to send them to the right to keep our advantage," said Burnham. "We did that and we’re satisfied that we won. In the second race our speed was good but we had a bad start, got rolled right away and we ping-ponged back and forth. Then the cover of the spinnaker halyard separated from its core and we couldn’t cleat it. Considering all that happened, we’re pleased how we ended up. There are nine more races to go, so there will be a lot more action." Great Britain finished second in the first race and third to the U.S.A.’s eighth in the second race to move to the top of the scoreboard.

In Ynglings, the team of Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), Liz Filter (Stevensville, Md.) and Nancy Haberland (Annapolis, Md.) also started out strong with a second-place position in race one that was established from the first mark rounding and maintained throughout the race. Ahead of the U.S.A. was Denmark while behind was France. Those, too, were positions maintained from the start and held to the finish line.

"In the first race, it was flatter, so it was easier to keep the boat going," said Cronin. "We had a good combination of speed and tactics, and there were not a lot of big surprises. We were launched to third right away, and it was a three-boat race. Last night, we got less sleep than we’re used to, but we wouldn’t have missed the Opening Ceremonies for the world, and believe it or not we started out fresh today in spite of that." The team finished tenth in the second race and currently sits in fifth overall.

"In both races we had good starts," said Cronin, "but we didn’t feel like we were pressing the line. I was surprised how shy people were today. Maybe it was first day jitters. We only get one drop and to be over early can be expensive."  Cronin added that a Meltemi breeze is expected over the next few days. "It’s a major regatta so you have to have some major weather!"

The 470 Women’s team of Katie McDowell (Barrington, R.I.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.) stand 13th overall today after finishes of 12 and 16.

"We did not have good speed," said McDowell. "We were forced the wrong way, which meant we were getting away from our game plan to stay with a left phase." Greece leads with finishes of 1-2 today.

Finn sailor Kevin Hall (Bowie, Md./Ventura, Calif.) finished 11th in his first race and 6th in his second for a seventh overall. "I feel lucky to be here, I just wish I’d had slightly more luck out on the water," said Hall.  “I’m looking forward to the rest of the regatta."  Poland posted a 3-1 for first position.

Also held today were practice races for the Europe, 49er and Laser classes. All events will sail two fleet races on each day of the scheduled competition except the 49ers, which are scheduled to sail three races each day. To complete the series, all events will sail 11 races except the 49ers who will sail 16 races.

What’s Next – Racing continues tomorrow for the Finn, 470 and Yngling classes, while sailors in the Europe, Laser and Mistral classes begin their series. On Monday, August 16, racing continues for Europe, Finn, 470, Laser and Yngling classes, while the 49ers begin their series and the Mistral sailors take a day off.

Additional background information on the events, and the U.S. athletes, is available online at www.ussailing.org/Olympics/OlympicGames/2004/

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Current Standings of U.S. Sailors:
(for full results http://www.sailing.org/olympics2004/)