FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barby MacGowan, Media Pro Int’l for Rolex, 401-225-0249,
barby.macgowan@mediapronewport.com;
Marlieke de Lange Eaton, US SAILING, 401-683-0800,
MarliekeEaton@ussailing.org
US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Miami OCR
At Mid-Way Point, Champions Rising
Miami, Fla. (January 30, 2008) – After three days of
fleet racing at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, the cream is rising to the top
for the 369 sailors competing from 34 countries. The regatta, which is
hosting fewer classes than normal due to conflicting world championships
overseas, has shown no shortage of intensity or talent in the four Olympic
classes (Laser, Laser Radial, Star, Yngling) and three Paralympic classes
(SKUD-18, Sonar, 2.4mR) competing here on Biscayne Bay. On the subject of
attracting top sailors, perhaps more pertinent than the regatta counting
toward world rankings has been the plays that athletes must still make in
this Olympic/Paralympic year. Not only must some still gain a nod of
selection to their national teams but also several countries themselves must
qualify for berths in China. With the Yngling Worlds following this event
here next week and the Star Worlds scheduled for here as well in April,
these two classes have proven to be the deepest in talent.
"At the last Star Worlds there were teams from 32 countries, and only 15
countries can qualify for the Olympics," said Olympic Gold Medalist Mark
Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.). "Now there are four slots left and 12
countries vying for them, so out of all the Olympic classes, this is the
toughest for getting into the Games." Reynolds noted that this year's Worlds
will be the end of the line for poor performers, though "poor performers" is
a relative term in this fleet. It is sprinkled with no less than six World
Champions and a slew of national champions and Olympic medalists. Reynolds,
himself a World Champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist qualified the
USA for its Olympic berth with his performance at the 2007 Worlds but will
not represent the USA in 2008. Instead John Dane and Austin Sperry (both
Gulfport, Miss.), who won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, will sail for the
USA. Dane and Sperry today landed in 16th overall after today's single race
was added to the score line of four previous races, while Reynolds, sailing
with Steve Erickson (Hood River, Ore.), logged in at 7th. Starting with
tomorrow's racing, the fleet of 66 boats will split into Gold and Silver
fleets, and by Saturday, the Gold fleet will have narrowed down to the top
ten for a single medal race that will count double in scoring, simulating
the new format that will be introduced for all Olympic sailing classes at
the 2008 Games.
The seemingly unlikely leader in the Star class is the USA's team of Rick
Merriman (New York, N.Y.) and Brian Sharp (Franklin, Mass.), who are posting
a low-point score of eight with two victories in their lineup. "Things have
been going our way," said Merriman, casually mentioning that he only got
together with Sharp two weekends ago. "We work well together, stay laid back
and keep the communications open."
Though Merriman has been sailing a Star for less than five years and his
best finish at a Star Worlds is a fifth (2002), he is highly regarded by the
other veterans, who also put value in Sharp's having been a grinder on
Alinghi's America's Cup team.
Sadly, no one will get to see these "underdogs" take it to the end. The duo
will sail tomorrow and then Merriman will fly out for his mother's funeral
on Saturday. She passed away the Saturday before the regatta started, after
a bout with cancer.
Behind Merriman/Sharp with 13 points is the Swiss team of Flavio Marazzi and
Enrico De Maria, followed by Elvind Melleby and Petter Pedersen from Norway,
with 14 points. Both of these teams have been training full-on for the
mission of qualifying their countries for the Olympics and then continuing
on as representatives to the Games, so they will be the forces with which to
be reckoned from here on out.
In Ynglings, Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and her crew of Carrie Howe
(Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) are also in the
unlikely position of eighth after a total of seven races. Though it's not
their style to be anywhere out of the top few positions, Barkow was calm
about it after getting off the water this afternoon. "There are some
specific things we need to work on, and the good thing is we don’t have the
pressure on us that others do," said Barkow, explaining that her team has
yet to be confirmed for Qingdao but that she is 90 percent sure of the
appointment. "It's cool to see that the fleet has accelerated on increasing
its skills. All the other countries have elevated their game and we have to
elevate ours again."
The Russian team of Ekaterina Skudina, Diana Krutskikh and Natalia Ivanova
currently lead the fleet of 28 boats with 23 points to the Netherlands' 34.
Barkow's team has 55 points.
In the Laser Radial fleet, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) and Anna
Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) are locked in a points battle for first. They
are tied with ten each but the tie-breaker currently goes to Railey.
In Lasers, Poland's Marcin Rudawski leads, with Kyle Rogachenko
(Collegeville, Pa.) in second. Rogachenko is on the USA's Elite Youth
Development Team, what US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean
Brenner calls "the next generation of Olympians."
About the Rolex Miami OCR
Established in 1990 by US SAILING, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws elite
sailors Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls from around the world.
In non-Olympic years, the regatta is especially important as a ranking
regatta for sailors hoping to qualify for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics,
which annually distinguish the top three sailors in each Olympic or
Paralympic class. The 2008 Rolex Miami OCR consists of five days of fleet
racing from Monday January 28 through Friday, February 1, and one day of
top-ten medal racing (for Olympic classes only) on Saturday, February 2,
replicating the new Olympic format that will debut in Qingdao.
Regatta Headquarters are at the US Sailing Center, where the Laser classes
also will be located. The Stars will be hosted at Coral Reef Yacht Club, the
Ynglings at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and all Paralympic classes at
Shake-A-Leg Miami’s facilities. The City of Miami has also joined to support
the event.
In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2008 Rolex Miami OCR is
also sponsored by: AlphaGraphics, Nautica, LaserPerformance, Gill, New
England Ropes, Sperry Top-Sider, Extrasport, RIBCRAFT, Nikon, Harken, Team
McLube, and Trinity Yachts.
On-demand video will be available after 9 p.m. each evening starting
Thursday, January 31, at
www.RolexMiamiOCR.org, where complete results also can be found.
(end)
US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR Top-Three Results
Day 3
Laser (24 boats) -- 7 races
1. Marcin Rudawski (POL), [11]-3-4-2-4-4-2, 19
2. Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Penn., USA), 1-4-1-[24/OCS]-6-1-7, 20
3. Maciej Grabowski (POL), 2-1-6-4-2-5-[8], 20
Laser Radial (39 boats) -- 6 races
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 1-4-1-1-3-[5], 10
2. Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla., USA), 3-1-3-2-1-[12], 10
3. Penny Clark (GBR), 6-2-6-[9]-9-2, 25
Star (70 boats) – 5 races
1. Rick Merriman/Brian Sharp (New York, N.Y./Franklin, Mass., USA),
1-4-2-1-[22]; 8
2. Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria (SUI) 2-1-5-(11)-4; 13
3. Eivind Melleby/Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR), 6-2-1-5-(7); 14
Yngling (28 boats) -- 7 races
1. Ekaterina Skudina,/Diana Krutskikh/Natalia Ivanova (RUS),
[19]-2-3-3-9-1-5; 23
2. Mandy Mulder/Mary Faber/Merel Witteveen (NED), 10-5-(22)-5-2-11-1; 34
3. Monica Azon/Sandra Azon/Graciela Pisonero (ESP), [16]-3-2-2-13-8-7, 35
2.4mR (25 boats) -- 7 races
1. Damien Seguin (FRA), 4-2-1-3-1-3-[11], 14
2. Paul Tingley (CAN), 1-9-[26/OCS]-2-4-1-3, 20
3. Stellan Berlin (SWE), 2-[7]-2-4-2-6-7, 23
SKUD-18 (10 boats) -- 6 races
1. Nick Scandone/Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Fountain Valley,
Calif./Marblehead, Mass., USA), 1-1-1-1-1-(2), 5
2. John McRoberts/Stacie Louttit (CAN), 3-2-3-[4]-4-1; 13
3. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (Brick, N.J./Boca Raton, Fla., USA),
5-3-2-2-2-[11/DNS], 14
Sonar (11 boats) -- 6 races
1. Jens Kroker/Tobias Schuetz/Siegmund Mainka (GER), 1-3-2-2-1-2, 8
2. Bruno Jourden/Herve Larhant/Nicolas Vimont Vicary (FRA), 2-4-3-7-[8]-1,
17
3. John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Steve Thomas (GBR), 6-2-1-5-4-[7], 18