FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barby MacGowan, Media Pro Int’l for Rolex, 401-225-0249 (on-site), barby.macgowan@mediapronewport.com;  
Marlieke de Lange Eaton, US SAILING, MarliekeEaton@ussailing.org

US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR:
Strong Breeze Gives Finale a Boost

Miami, Fla. (January 27, 2006) -- "One race…double points…must count"--that was the last-day mantra for some of the 610 sailors from 40 countries competing in US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR. Today's single race in the nine Olympic classes here determined gold, silver and bronze medals for Olympic hopefuls who hope to repeat--or better--their results in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games. Adding the emphasis on today's finale was the new Olympic format, which stipulates that only the top-ten sailors from each class can participate in the Medal Race. Their scores count double toward a total point score that is better when lower.

Although sailors did not have the option of allowing the Medal Race as one of their throwouts, three teams nevertheless had won the right to sit out, as mathematically they had already claimed victory. Those teams were France's current world champions in the Star class Xavier Rohart (Martigues) and Pascal Rambeau (La Rochelle); USA's reigning Yngling world champions Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Deborah Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.).; and USA's Olympic silver medalists in Tornado class John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, Texas). The latter two teams sailed today, winning their final Medal Races for good measure.

For the rest, today's 18-20 knot winds set the stage for an exciting climax to one of US SAILING's largest Rolex Miami OCRs in the last decade.

In the Laser Radial class, USA's Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) turned in an outstanding performance to clinch the gold medal as well as US SAILING's Golden Torch Award, given to the American sailor deemed to have the best overall performance among all classes. She had ten points on Canada's Jennifer Spalding (Vancouver) going into today. "I had to finish ahead of her or at least within five boats of her to win, and I knew because of the high winds that I had the advantage," said Tunnicliffe. "At the start, there were some boats over the line early. I wasn't sure if I was one of them, but Jennifer was 'bow out' on me, so I figured if I was, she was, too. In other words, I didn't need to go back if she didn't--I'd still win." When at the first windward mark Tunnicliffe saw a posting that Jennifer was OCS ("over early"), she knew she had won. Near the end of the race, Tunnicliffe capsized. "I got a little excited and was caught off guard," she said, adding that at that point it didn't matter that she lost four boats in the process and wound up finishing seventh. Tunnicliffe's nemesis, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) took the silver medal ahead of Spalding's bronze-medal finish. Railey won last month's Laser Radial World Championship (Tunnicliffe finished third) and looked to be the favorite at this regatta until yesterday when she, too, was over the starting line early. It was the second in her one-dropout series, which meant she had to claim 48 points. "That really helped me out," said Tunnicliffe, referring to the fact that, mathematically, Railey had no way of winning the regatta, even by virtue of a good finish in today's Medal Race, which she won.

Tunnicliffe is gunning for the number one spot on the US Sailing Team, and for her, as for all the Olympic classes here, this event was a team qualifier. The next qualifier for her will be the class's upcoming North Americans in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In other classes:

Finn
"I am happy with today," said Spain's Rafael Trujillo (Santander), who going into today's Finn Medal Race had only a two-point lead over Canada's Christopher Cook (Toronto), a formidable contender all week. "It is a good format, and the race committee did a great job with the distance and timing of the race," said Trujillo. It was a narrow window in which to do his job, but Trujillo successfully covered Cook in the 30-minute race over a trapezoid course, finishing fourth--just ahead of Cook's fifth--to clinch the gold medal, while Cook earned the silver.

Laser
Great Britain's Paul Goodison (Rotherham) secured the gold in the Medal Race for Lasers by holding off France's Felix Pruvot (Brest), who took silver. In the final race, Goodison finished second to Pruvot's 6th. "It was hard, as you start looking at everyone in this small fleet," said Pruvot about the 10-boat fleet as compared to the original 89 Lasers he sailed against to get to the finals. "It is important to beat your other competitors, more than in normal racing."

470 Men's
After watching Israel's Gideon Kliger and Udi Gal (Tel Aviv) take the lead yesterday, the 470 Men's team from Great Britain, Nic Asher (Lowestoft) and Elliot Willis (Sevenoaks), got to work today to get back to the top of the scoreboard. They claimed gold, winning today's Medal Race, while France's Benjamin and Romain Bonnaud (both Nantes) took the silver with a second and Israel settled for bronze.

"We were anxious to get this race done," said Asher. "We weren't sure what it was going to be like, but the conditions helped make it a great event. It was pretty gusty with quite big waves. We were in front of the whole fleet today from the start…."

470 Women's
Upsetting the week-long British leaders in 470 Women's class was the French team of Ingrid Petitjean and Nadege Douroux (both Marseille). The duo finished second today, while the UK's Christina Bassadone (Southampton) and Saskia Clark (West Mersea) finished fifth to take the silver medal. About the new final race format, Petitjean said, "I think we had to do something to make it better and more popular. I think it was a good thing."

Neil Pryde RS:X Women's
Great Britain's Bryony Shaw (Weymouth) came back today to knock out yesterday's leader from Spain, Marina Alabau (Santander), in the Neil Pryde RS:X . She finished third to Alabau's fourth, which handed her the gold and Alabau the silver.

Neil Pryde RS:X Men's
Great Britain's Nick Dempsey (Weymouth), the leader since day one in the Neil Pryde RS:X Men's fleet, won today's Medal Race to secure his gold medal. He shows eight first-place finishes in his 10-race lineup. Taking silver was France's Huguet Nicolas (Marseilles).

49er
Yesterdays leaders in the 49er class, Italy's Piero and Gianfranco Sibello (Alassio) finished second in today's Medal Race to clinch the gold medal over Great Britain's Olympic bronze medalists Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks (both Portland). Draper and Hiscocks had dominated this week until the Italian team took over.

Sonar
Also included in racing here was the Sonar, one of the three classes chosen for the 2008 Paralympic Games, which have not adopted the new Olympic format. In that class, standings from yesterday determined class medalists when sailing had to be canceled due to the high winds. David Schroeder (Miami, Fla.), Keith Burhans (Rochester, N.Y.) and Bill Mauk (Miami, Fla.) won the gold medal, with Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J), Ezra Culver (Miami, Fla.) and Mike Ross (Encinitas, Calif.) finishing two points behind with a silver medal

US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 event, a designation that indicates its importance in world rankings. It also is a qualifying event for the members of the 2006 US Sailing Team and a country qualifier for the 2007 Pan Am Games.

In addition to Rolex, sponsors for US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR are Nautica, Extrasport, Gill, Harken, McLube, New England Ropes, Nikon, Sperry Top-Sider, Vanguard Sailboats, Vineyard Vines, and Zodiac. Rolex and Nautica are also sponsors of the US Sailing Teams.

Headquarters for US SAILING’s 2006 Rolex Miami OCR are at the US Sailing Center, with classes hosted by the US Sailing Center; Coral Reef, Key Biscayne and Miami Yacht Clubs; the Coconut Grove Sailing Club; and Shake-A-Leg-Miami. The event is organized by US SAILING, the national governing body of the sport.

For complete rosters, photos and results, visit the event website at www.ussailing.org/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR. Video produced by T2P TV from yesterday and today can be viewed at www.t2p.tv.

About US SAILING
The Rolex Miami OCR is organized by US SAILING, the 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.  

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US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR
Day 5 (Jan. 27, 2006) Results

Position, Skipper/Crew, Hometowns, Finishes, Total Points
Please note that, as part of the new Olympic finals format, the final race in each Olympic event counts double.

49er (32 boats)
1. Piero Sibello/Gianfranco Sibello, both Alassio, ITA, 3-6-4-[OCS]-4-7-2-1-1-1-1-4, 34.00
2. Chris Draper/Simon Hiscocks, both Portland, GBR, 1-3-1-[7]-1-1-4-7-5-2-5-6, 36.00
3. Rodion Luka/George Leonchuk, both Kiev, UKR, 5-12-3-9-2-[14]-6-2-7-6-7-8, 67.00

470 Men (21 boats)
1. Nic Asher/Elliot Willis, Lowestoft/Sevenoaks, GBR, 4-1-3-1-3-7-8-1-3-9-[10]-2, 42.00
2. Benjamin Bonnaud/Romain Bonnaud, both Nantes, FRA, 3-3-1-2-7-5-3-8-[OCS]-4-9-4, 49.00
3. Gideon Kliger/Udi Gal, Tel-Aviv, ISR, 7-4-4-[9]-2-2-1-9-5-2-2-14, 52.00

470 Women (16 boats)
1. Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux, both Marseille, FRA, 3-1-5-4-3-2-[9]-6-2-2-1-4, 33.00
2. Christina Bassadone/Saskia Clark, Southampton/West Mersea, GBR, 2-5-2-2-1-[8]-3-3-1-1-5-10, 35.00
3. Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler, Shelter Island, N.Y./Matawan, N.J., USA, 1-[12]-1-10-7-1-11-2-6-3-3-6, 51.00

Finn (25 boats)
1. Rafael Trujillo, Santander, ESP, 1-1-5-3-4-[9]-2-5-1-1-1-8, 32.00
2. Christopher Cook, Toronto, CAN, 3-2-3-1-[7]-4-1-1-4-3/RDG-4-10, 36.00
3. Jonas Hoegh Christensen, DEN, 5-[OCS]-4-4-1-6-6-4-3-4-3-1-2, 42.00

Laser Full (89 boats)
1. Paul Goodison, Rotherham, GBR, 2-1-1-3-1-4-[5]-3-1-3-4, 23.00
2. Felix Pruvot, Brest, FRA, [8]-2-8-1-2-2-1-6-3-5-12, 42.00
3. Maciej Grabowski, Gdynia, POL, 3-1-1-4-4-7-[13]-2-7-12-8, 49.00

Laser Radial (47 boats)
1. Anna Tunnicliffe, Plantation, Fla., USA, [9]-6-2-4-8-4-3-2-4-7-14, 54.00
2. Paige Railey, Clearwater, Fla., USA, 1-1-1-10-[OCS]-1-1-1-48/OCS-1-2, 67.00
3. Jennifer Spalding, Vancouver, CAN, 12-2-[17]-3-6-2-2-9-2-12-OCS, 72.00

Neil Pryde RS:X Men (39 boards)
1. Nick Dempsey, Weymouth, GBR, 2-1-1-1-1-[5]-1-1-1-2, 11.00
2. Nicolas Huguet, Marseille, FRA, 1-2-5-2-6-1-3-4-[10]-14, 38.00
3. Ivan Pastor, Santander, ESP, 5-4-[12]-3-4-2-5-8-12-6, 49.00

Neil Pryde RS:X Women (20 boards)
1. Bryony Shaw, Weymouth, GBR, 1-3-1-3-2-1-[6]-2-4-6, 23.00
2. Marina Alabau, Santander, ESP, 3-[OCS]-4-1-1-5-1-1-1-8, 25.00
3. Lucy Horwood, Wales, GBR, 2-5-5-[11]-3-2-2-3-2-2, 26.00

Sonar (6 boats)
1. David Schroeder/Keith Burhans/Bill Mauk, Miami, Fla./Rochester, N.Y./Miami, Fla., USA, 1-2-1-1-1-1-[DSQ]-1-2-3, 13.00
2. Rick Doerr/Ezra Culver/Mike Ross, Clifton, N.J./Miami, Fla./Encinitas, Calif., USA, 2-1-[3]-2-2-3-1-2-1-1, 15.00
3. Carwile Leroy/Ali Soylu/Carlos Rodriguez, Baltimore, Md./Baltimore, Md./Miami Fla, USA, [4]-4-2-3-3-2-2-3-3-4, 26.00

Star (69 boats)
1. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, Martigues/La Rochelle, FRA, 1-9-[26]-1-6-3-1-5-2-22/DNC, 50.00
2. Andrew Horton/Brad Nichol, Newport, R.I./Miami Beach, Fla, USA, 2-[25]-2-19-4-6-23-13-13-4, 86.00
3. George Szabo/Eric Monroe, San Diego, Calif./Coronado, Calif., USA, 14-4-5-10-[19]-13-12-1-17-18, 94.00

Tornado (25 boats)
1. John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, New Orleans, La./Kemah, Texas, USA, 1-1-2-8-2-4-1-7-1-[11]-2, 29.00
2. Olivier Backes/Paul-Ambroise Sevestre, Marseille/Fontanes, FRA, 3-11-7-1-7-8-[12]-3-8-1, 49.00
3. Revil Xavier/Espagnon Christophe, FRA, [OCS]-2-6-6-3-10-13-6-2-5-4, 57.00

Yngling (14 boats)
1. Sally Barkow/Deborah Capozzi/Carrie Howe, Nashotah, Wis./Bayport, N.Y./Grosse Pointe, Mich., USA, 1-1-1-3-1-1-2-[5]-1-1-1-1-2, 15.00
2. Hannah Swett/Melissa Purdy/Liz Filter, New York,N.Y/Belvedere Tiburon, Calif./Stevensville, Md., USA, [9]-3-3-1-3-2-4-2-5-[DSQ]-9-4, 45.00
3. Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Victoria Rawlinson, all Weymouth, GBR, 2-4-4-4-[11]-3-3-4-4-2-7-10, 47.00