USA’s PARALYMPIC SAILORS READY TO RACE

ATHENS, Greece (September 16, 2004) – US sailors will face some stiff competition and more than just a stiff breeze when the Paralympic sailing competition gets underway September 18-24 at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre.

Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor, Maine) in the singlehanded 2.4 Metre keelboat, and the team of skipper John Ross-Duggan (Newport Beach, Calif.), with crew Brad Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Hollywood, Fla.), J.P. Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and alternate Roger Cleworth (Brandon, Fla.) in the three-person Sonar keelboat, will face an elite field that includes sailors from each of the medal-winning boats at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney.

But the unpredictable winds swirling around the Saronic Gulf venue may be the equalizer in an event that relies on skill, experience, timing and a bit of luck.

"The wind is tricky," said Brown, the 2.4 Metre bronze medallist at the 2000 Paralympic Games. "It turns 180 degrees on us and blows one minute then not the next. There’s no real rhyme or reason to any of this. Everything seems to be a roll of the dice. But we’re not getting too excited. Not until the competition."

The often-fickle winds at Agios Kosmas caused postponements, course changes and some unexpected shuffling in the sailing standings at last month’s Olympic Games.

"The winds here are interesting," said Sonar coach Colin Park, before accompanying his crew on a training run. "The wind that comes off the shore is very shifty. It comes off the mountain passes and you never know where it’s going to be. That adds a lot of randomness to the race."

However, there is nothing random about the USA’s Sonar team – third place finishers at the 2004 Sonar World Championships last February. Helmsman Ross-Duggan earned a bronze medal when sailing made its Paralympic debut as an exhibition event in 1996 on Lake Lanier shortly after the Atlanta Olympic Games. Creignou is a veteran sailor who has been racing with Ross-Duggan, with whom he shares the same birthday, for the last few years. Adding to the mix is Johnson who also brings along some Paralympic experience -- although his involved gyms rather than jibs -- as a member of the USA sitting volleyball team that placed 12^th at the Sydney Paralympic Games.

"There’s no place I’d rather be," laughed Johnson on the change from an indoor venue to the picturesque surroundings of Agios Kosmas.

The Sonar team will face competition from 14 nations: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain and Sweden. Australia sailed to the gold medal in Sydney in 2000 while Germany captured the silver medal and Canada took home the bronze medal.

In the 16-boat 2.4 Metre fleet, Brown will face some familiar competition including defending 2000 Olympic gold medallist Heiko Kroeger from Germany and silver medallist Jens Als Andersen of Denmark. Kroger won the World Disabled Sailing Championship crown in 2001, 2002 and 2003 while Brown placed second in 2001 and third in 2002.

Nine races are scheduled for both the 2.4 Metre and Sonar events. Two races are planned for each day, with the exception of the final day of the series when only one race will be sailed, and reserve days may be used, if necessary, to complete the planned schedule. Although four races will constitute a series, once a fifth race has been completed the series standings will reflect a drop of the worst finish of each boat.

Even with the uncertain winds and Paralympic pressure, Brown believes the gold medals will go to the sailors who can maintain consistency over the nine-race competition.

"I think this trip around you just have to be consistent," said the laid-back Brown. "You just have to have consistent finishes and not be concerned about winning every race. We’re just laying low and sailing fast. Everybody’s talking about the winds, but we’re not getting involved in all of that. We’re just going to sail our race"

For additional information visit: www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicGames/2004/