FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marlieke de Lange Eaton
401-683-0800
JEFF LINTON
AND SALLY BARKOW ARE
US SAILING's 2007 ROLEX YACHTSMAN AND YACHTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Portsmouth, R.I. (January 16, 2008) – Lightning
World Champion Jeff Linton (Tampa, Fla.) and Princess Sofia Trophy Yngling
Champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) today were named, respectively, US
SAILING’s 2007 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. A shortlist of
10 male and nine female sailors – determined from nominations by the
membership of US SAILING – were evaluated by a panel of sailing journalists
who selected these two sailors for the noteworthy distinction.
Established in 1961 by US SAILING and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. since
1980, the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards recognize the
outstanding on-the-water competitive achievement of an individual man and
woman in the calendar year just concluded. The winners will be honored and
presented with specially engraved Rolex timepieces during a luncheon on
February 29, 2008, at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan.
Rolex
Yachtsman of the Year – When Jeff Linton (Tampa, Fla.) received his
first nomination for the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award in 2005, it was
the result of crewing aboard winning boats at the Etchells World
Championship and the J/24 Midwinters, combined with a string of four
top-five finishes in the Lightning class. Fast forward two years to find the
45-year-old Linton now semi-retired, having sold his partnership interest in
Masthead Enterprises, and in the helmsman’s position, dominating the
Lightning class, for which he has been crowned the 2007 Rolex Yachtsman of
the Year.
“This was a remarkable year,” said Linton. “Everything fell into place.
We’ve become more consistent as a team, and because work was secondary there
was more time to fix the boat and more time to practice. Winning the Rolex
Yachtsman of the Year award is one of those things you dream about. You get
a few wins, and you think ‘maybe I could get my name on that [trophy].’ It’s
the pinnacle, and after 38 years of sailing, I’ve finally done it.”
Linton won the 2007 Lightning World Championship in Athens, Greece, in a
fleet of 48 with 11 nations represented, but he noted that the hardest event
to win in 2007 was the Lightning Winter Championship, which has no
restrictions on the number of entries. At that 71-boat event, contested in
St. Petersburg, Fla., he edged out numerous notable sailors to win by just
one point. His success in the class also included: the South American
Championship held in Bogota, Columbia, where first-place finishes in three
races ultimately gave him a 14-point win over the 20-boat field; the title
win at the Florida District Championship; a second-place finish at the
Lightning Deep South Regatta in Savannah, Ga.; and second overall in the
Lightning Southern Circuit out of 42 boats.
Linton also earned additional praise from the selection committee for
performance in two other competitive one-design classes: he won the Flying
Scot North American Championship and the Classic Moth National Championship.
“The Flying Scot class is similar in many respects to the Lightning,” Linton
explained. “Both have a large membership base in the U.S.A. and professional
sailors are active in both classes. The Moth, which was well-known in the
1930s and ‘40s and built in basements, is still a build-your-own boat. My
current boat is four years old and undefeated. If someone beats her, I’ll
have to build a new one.”
Linton moved to Florida as an infant and grew up sailing with his father, a
marine biologist, and his brother, John, on the family’s Morgan 24. He first
tasted success in one-design racing as a teenager on a windsurfer; and while
he went to Eckerd College on a soccer scholarship, he ultimately ended up in
the collegiate sailing program. His wife, Amy Smith Linton, is his regular
crew in the Lightning and Flying Scot, making her a world champion as well.
“A lot of time spouses don’t work together [in the boat]. I don’t know the
secret; we just try to have fun.”
Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year – Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) has reclaimed
her position as the top woman racer in the U.S.A. upon being named the 2007
Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. First recognized with the honor in 2005,
Barkow was nominated to the shortlist for the sixth consecutive year and now
joins a select group of women who have received the accolade more than once.
"This is exciting and unexpected! I was shocked when I got the call," said
Barkow, who is training in Florida until the end of February with her
Yngling teammates Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Carrie Howe (Grosse
Pointe, Mich.). “The other nominated sailors are extremely distinguished and
accomplished, all very deserving of this great honor.”
Like the football star who cannot win the Heisman Trophy without his team,
Barkow acknowledged she would not be receiving this award for the second
time without the support of the talented team on which she relies. “I have
not sailed a single-handed boat since 2002 and I believe that teamwork is
our biggest asset on the water. Debbie has sailed with me in every event
this past year, not to mention the preceding five years. Carrie has also
been racing with me for the past five years, only missing a few events this
year, and Annie Lush (GBR) has raced every match race event and all three of
our successful Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championships. Beyond
these three, there have been numerous fantastic crew who all deserve a piece
of this award. Our sport involves a great deal of teamwork, and it is the
entire team that makes success happen. This award is for my entire team!”
Although Barkow’s primary focus has been helming her Yngling with a goal of
representing the U.S.A. at the 2008 Olympic Games in China, her performance
in other classes, whether fleet or match racing, were what set her apart in
2007. Barkow started the year with her third consecutive win of the Rolex
Miami OCR in the Yngling class. On task in the Yngling, she finished second
at the North American Championship in Miami, won the Princess Sofia Trophy
in Spain and collected silver at both Semaine Olympique Française in France
and the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Portugal.
Barkow’s turn on the match racing circuit was highlighted by wins at the
Boat U.S. Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, Md., and the Vitória Brasil Women’s
Cup in Brazil. Flying straight from Brazil to Houston, Texas, Barkow took
the helm of a J/22 to close the year as she had started it -- collecting
another championship title for the third consecutive time. She won US
SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (IWKC) without
having to sail the final race of the series after topping a field that
included past winner and fellow Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year (’95, ’01)
Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), as well as Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.)
who will represent the U.S.A. at the 2008 Olympic Games in the Laser Radial
event. Only one other woman has won the Rolex IWKC multiple times: Betsy
Alison (Newport, R.I.) has won not only the regatta but also the Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year award a record-setting five times.
The 27-year-old Barkow grew up in a sailing family and started receiving
national recognition as two-time ICSA (Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association)
All-American (2001 and 2002) while studying Psychology at Old Dominion
University (Norfolk, Va.). Since graduating from ODU, her single-minded
focus has been her goal of competing at the Olympics in the Yngling class.
The linchpin to that quest will be the Yngling World Championship in
February which will be the final event in a series that will determine if
Barkow’s team represents the U.S.A. at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
For additional information on the awards please visit
www.ussailing.org/awards/rolex.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup
defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged
excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including US
Sailing Team preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing,
offshore, one-design and women's 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.
-end-