Contact: Cynthia Goss
203-453-2731
USA Captures Two Gold, Two Silver Medals at
IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship
Top Finishes Qualify U.S. for Sonar,
SKUD-18 Events at 2008 Paralympic Games
Portsmouth, R.I. (September 15, 2007) — U.S. sailors made a strong
showing at the 2007 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship, capturing two
gold medals and two silver medals at this world championship that concluded
yesterday on Lake Ontario. By winning four of a possible nine medals, the
U.S. topped the national medal count at this week-long event hosted by the
Rochester Yacht Club (Rochester, N.Y.).
The performance of U.S. sailors at this world championship in the SKUD-18
class—a new Paralympic class making its debut at the 2008 Paralympic
Games—have proved that the U.S. is a nation to watch in this doublehanded
fleet. The U.S. had four boats in the top 10, capturing first, second,
fourth, and seventh places in the 18-boat class.
Gold medalists Karen Mitchell (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and J.P. Creignou (St.
Petersburg, Fla.) sailed consistently at the leading edge of the fleet,
never finishing below top 10 in an individual race despite varied wind
conditions that ranged from light air, to a day with intermittent squalls,
to teen-strength breezes that gusted into the low-20-knot range. Nick
Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead,
Mass.) captured the silver medal.
According to Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), the head coach of the US Disabled
Sailing Team, the United States' strong showing in the SKUD class stems from
a decision U.S. SKUD sailors made when this boat appeared on the scene.
"We trained as a group and held several training camps," said Alison. "As
one boat made a new step up in performance, we all learned: we discussed rig
tension and gybing angles, and the sailors learned from each others'
successes … These SKUD sailors have worked hard, and this regatta just shows
what you can achieve when you work together."
SKUD sailors Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (Boca Raton,
Fla.) finished fourth, and Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Bob
Jones (Issaquah, Wash.) finished seventh.
Sonar skipper Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J.), and
Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass.) captured gold in a 27-boat Sonar class that
was deep with world-class talent. According to Alison, a mid-fleet position
on the Sonar race course at this event could put a skipper in a neighborhood
with past Paralympic medalists, past world champions. Only 3 points
separated the top three boats in the final standings, and the U.S. team of
Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla.), Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor, Maine), and
Roger Cleworth (Lithia, Fla) captured the silver medal.
John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wisc.), 10th in the 2.4mR class, was the top-scoring
U.S. sailor in that 45-boat fleet.
Alison's kudos for the U.S. sailors who competed at this regatta extends
well beyond medal counts. "I am personally so proud of all the sailors. They
support each other; when one wins, the others are happy for their success.
They all represented the U.S. so well."
The top-scoring U.S. sailors in the Sonar and SKUD-18 classes have qualified
the United States to compete in these two events at the 2008 Paralympic
Games. The U.S. had already qualified in the 2.4mR class at the 2006
Disabled Sailing World Championship held in Perth, Australia, in January
'06.
Although the team of Mitchell/Creignou and Doerr/Donohue/Angle qualified the
U.S. for these Paralympic events, these sailors may not be the ultimate U.S.
representatives at the 2008 Paralympic Games. The U.S. Paralympic Team
Trials, to be sailed in Newport, Rhode Island, this October, is a
winner-takes-all regatta that determines which sailors will represent the
U.S. at the Games.
The Paralympic Games will be held in Beijing, China, in September 2008. The
Paralympic Regatta will be sailed in Qingdao, a city located about 430 miles
southeast of the Beijing.
To view results of the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship, visit the
championship's website at
www.2007ifdsworlds.com.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams are managed by the United States
Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing.
Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the
organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United
States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors
and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and
communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides
administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country,
including National Championships and the U.S. Sailing Teams. For more
information, please visit
www.ussailing.org.
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