US SAILING TEAM-MEMBERS MORGAN LARSON AND PETE SPAULDING WIN GOLD MEDAL AT HOLLAND REGATTA

Medemblik, The Netherlands (May 30, 2006) – US Sailing Team-members Morgan Larson (Capitola, Calif.) and Pete Spaulding (Lafayette, Ind.) won the gold medal in the 49er fleet at the Holland Regatta, held May 24-28 on the IJsselmeer off Medemblik, The Netherlands. The Holland Regatta is the largest Olympic class sailing event in the Netherlands, drawing more than 1,000 competitors from 55 countries. Formerly called the SPA Regatta, the event is ranked as a Grade 1 event by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

Larson and Spaulding defeated 29 teams to win the gold medal on Sunday, after an exciting finish in the harbor, in front of the International Sailing Center Medemblik. They maintained their top position throughout the four-day regatta, eventually beating teams from Italy and Great Britain for a medal.

"It was a nice win for us but we still have some work to do in the next week to prepare for the World Championship," said Larson, referring to the 2006 49er World Championship, which starts next week on the Lake of Bourget in Aix-les-Bains, France. Larson and Spaulding came in fourth place in the 49er class at US SAILING’s 2006 Rolex Miami OCR in February.

After enduring high winds throughout the regatta and a delayed start for the first day of racing, sailors faced excellent weather conditions for the Medal Races. The Medal Races followed the new Olympic format, where the top ten of all eleven Olympic classes sailed only one race. The points scored in the Medal Races counted double, and resulted in gold, silver or bronze medals.
For complete results from the Holland Regatta, including results from the other US Sailing Team-members who competed in the event, please visit the event website at www.hollandregatta.org .

The US Sailing Team is managed by US SAILING, national governing body of the sport. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

-End-