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East Coast Report / U.S. Olympic &
Paralympic Team Trials – Sailing:
LEADERS USE SHIFTY NORTHEASTERLIES TO FUEL PEAK PERFORMANCES
Newport/Middletown, R.I. (October 9, 2007) — Competitors at the U.S.
Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials – Sailing grappled today with shifty
northeasterly winds. Sizeable shifts turned the water into a patchwork of
oscillations that racers navigated carefully, like a minefield. But there
were some who definitely chose to travel the right route.
Laser-class leader Brad Funk (Plantation, Fla.)
and Sonar skipper Albert Foster (Wayzata, Minn.) both sailed 1-1 days. For
Foster, his top performance moves him to the head of his class. For Funk, it
keeps him in the number-one spot in the 33-boat Laser fleet.
Sailors gave different estimates of how big the oscillations were, but Laser
Radial sailor Sarah Lihan (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) had her own gauge: "How big
were the shifts? Big enough to make a difference."
Lihan used those shifts as the ticket to her first race win in this series.
In today's opening race, she led the 22-boat class to the first mark of the
course. But the two sailors who stand 1-2 in the Laser Radials—Anna
Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)—are a
hard pair to fend off. Although Lihan lost her lead, she regained it on the
second windward leg, using a right-hand shift to position herself for a
bullet at the finish line.
Lihan may be the first Laser Radial sailor to break the winning streak of
Tunnicliffe and Railey, who have won every other race to date; but the
battle for the Laser Radial Olympic berth is shaping up to be a duel between
these two rivals.
The second race of the day was, as Tunnicliffe says, "one to remember."
Railey had the lead at the weather mark; Tunnicliffe caught her on the run,
but was yellow-flagged for pumping. Tunnicliffe did her two penalty turns
and chased her opponent to eventually win her sixth race of the series. She
now leads the class by five points.
Racing in the Sonar class has evolved into a close battle for the berth to
the Paralympic Games in China—and these triplehanded boats are close on the
water, and in the point scores. In one race today, three boats finished one
race within half a boat length. Foster, racing with David Burdette and Jim
Thweatt (Lutherville, Md./W. Sacramento, Calif.), now has the class lead by
a slim one point over Rick Doerr, Tim Angle, and Bill Donohue (Clifton,
N.J./Marblehead, Mass./Brick, N.J.).
In the 2.4mR class, Mark Bryant (Estero, Fla.) continues to lead by two
points. Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Fountain Valley,
Calif./Marblehead, Mass.) won yet another race today to retain their lead in
the doublehanded SKUD-18 class.
Most classes have sailed 8 of the scheduled 16 races, and this long regatta
is now officially at its halfway point. Sailors will enjoy a lay day
tomorrow—but there is at least one racer who is not yet ready to rest.
"Normally at this stage of a big event, I'm feeling the negative effects of
expending a lot of physical exertion and mental energy," said Laser sailor
Brad Funk. "But it feels like the regatta has just begun and I'm raring to
go."
Funk has every reason to be weary. He fought hard for his two wins today.
Not having the luxury of having the lead at the top mark, he used every
opportunity on the successive legs to gain ground. Tomorrow he expects his
"halftime" report from his coach. But he’ll be one of those players eager to
get back into the game. Although he only has a three-point lead in a big
class with 8 more races to go, he is clearly not feeling the pressure as
much as he is the joy of going racing. As Funk said after racing this
evening: "I kind of wish Wednesday wasn't a lay day."
For complete information on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials -
Sailing, please visit
www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials.
Video from the event with commentary by Gary Jobson will be available daily
on the website of the NBC network at
www.NBCOlympics.com.
About the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing are managed by US
SAILING and hosted by several sailing organizations. Racing takes place
October 6 through October 14 with a rest day scheduled at each venue. The
highest eligible finisher in each class will be nominated by US SAILING to
the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) to the 2008 U.S. Olympic or Paralympic
Team - Sailing. The events on the West Coast are hosted by Alamitos Bay
Yacht Club (470 Men & Women, RS:X Men & Women), California Yacht Club
(Star), Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Finn), San Diego Yacht Club (Tornado),
and Southwestern Yacht Club (49er). On the East Coast, the Rhode Island
Sailing Foundation in Newport host the Laser, Laser Radial, 2.4mR, SKUD 18,
and Sonar events.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is 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. Olympic and
Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit
www.ussailing.org.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS (Top 3 in class)
2.4mR (4 boats/after 8 races)
1, Mark Bryant (Estero, Fla.); 2, 1, 2, [3], 2, 1, 2, 1: 11 points
2, Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.); [4], 2, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 2: 13 points
3, John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wisc.); [3], 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3: 17 points
Laser (33 boats/after 8 races)
1. Brad Funk (Plantation, Fla.); 3, 2, 2, [9], 4, 2, 1, 1: 15 points
2. Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.); 4, 4, 1, [20], 1, 1, 2, 5: 18 points
3. John Pearce (Ithaca, N.Y.); 7, 5, 3, [8], 6, 6, 3, 6: 36 points
Laser Radial (22 boats/after 8 races)
1. Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.); 1, 1, 1, [3], 1, 1, 2, 1: 8
points
2. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.); 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, [3], 2: 13 points
3. Sarah Lihan (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 1, [11]: 24 points
SKUD-18 (5 boats/after 7 races)
1. Nick Scandone/Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Fountain Valley,
Calif./Marblehead, Mass.); 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1: 9 points
2. Karen Mitchell/JP Creignou, (Deerfield Beach, Fla./St. Petersburg, Fla.);
1, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2: 15 points
3. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (Brick, N.J./West Chester, Penn.); 2, 2, 3,
3, 3, 3, 4: 20 points
Sonar (6 boats/after 9 races)
1. Albert Foster/David Burdette/Jim Thweatt (Wayzata, Minn./Lutherville,
Md./W. Sacramento, Calif.); [5], 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 1, 1: 18 points
2. Rick Doerr/Tim Angle/Bill Donohue (Clifton, N.J./Marblehead, Mass./Brick,
N.J.); 1, 3, 1, 1, [7], 3, 2, 4, 4: 19 points
3. Paul Callahan/Roger Cleworth/Tom Brown (Newport, R.I. and Cape Coral,
Fla./Lithia, Fla./Northeast Harbor, Maine); 4, [7], 2, 3, 1, 1, 4, 3, 3: 21
points
For complete results, visit
www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials/race_results.html.
NOTE: [ ] indicates discard
(ends)