For Immediate Release
Contact: Howard Thomas, Press Officer onsite: +30 693-669-8251; or Jan Harley, Media Pro, 401.849.0220
 

Brown Guaranteed A Medal at Paralympics
Ross-Duggan, Creignou and Johnson Still In The Hunt

ATHENS, Greece (September 22, 2004) –The USA’s Sonar and 2.4 Metre sailors are well-positioned to bring home Paralympic medals after races seven and eight were completed today on the Saronic Gulf.  Both fleets will sail the ninth and final race of their Paralympic Regatta tomorrow.  Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor, Maine) is now guaranteed a medal in the 2.4 Metre, while Sonar sailors John Ross-Duggan (Newport Beach, Calif.), Brad Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis.) and J.P. Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) remain in the hunt.

"It was a good day," said Team Leader Serge Jorgensen (Sarasota, Fla.). "Now it's just a matter of who can beat who on the final day."

On finishes of 1-3 in today’s races, Brown recovered the one-point between himself and rival Damien Seguin of France.  The two sailors are now tied on points – at 17 apiece – in a virtually unbreakable tie owing to the same number of first, second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes thus far in the series.  Seguin holds the overall fleet lead by virtue of his finish in the last race today – a second to Brown’s third.  Thierry Schmitter of the Netherlands is third overall with 20 points.  The three sailors are all guaranteed medals, with the color to be determined on the outcome of tomorrow’s final race.

"I got off the line today," said Brown, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games. "I just have to do that one more time."

Brown led the first race of the day from start to finish and sailed to a comfortable 47-second win over Peter Thompson of Australia.  Seguin and Schmitter placed third and fourth, respectively.

The cushion wasn't as comfortable in the second race, however, as Brown gained, and then lost, the lead at the fourth mark on his way to a third-place finish.  Schmitter edged out Seguin for first place with Brown crossing the line 11 seconds later.  Remarkably, the top nine boats in the 16-boat fleet finished within one minute of each other.

After an eighth place finish in the first race of the day, Ross-Duggan, Johnson and Creignou battled back to place fifth in race eight to remain in contention for a medal in their 15-boat Sonar fleet. The U.S. team is fourth overall, behind Germany with whom they are tied on points at 30.  Israel leads the overall standings on 18 points, followed by The Netherlands with 22.

In tomorrow’s final race, the U.S. will have to finish ahead of Germany -- and stay within seven boats of Australia -- to claim the Sonar bronze medal.

"Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day," said Sonar alternate Roger Cleworth (Brandon, Fla.).

For more information, visit www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicGames/2004/

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