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US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Miami OCR
Paralympic Champions Named; Medal Races for Olympic Classes Tomorrow
Miami, Fla. (February 1, 2008) - Racing concluded today for three
Paralympic classes (SKUD-18, Sonar and 2.4mR) at US SAILING's Rolex Miami
OCR, and a final day of fleet racing for four Olympic classes (Laser, Laser
Radial, Star and Yngling) determined the top-ten sailors in each who will
advance to tomorrow's medal races. The world-ranking regatta is hosting 369
sailors from 34 countries, with many of those sailors preparing for the 2008
Olympic and Paralympic Games in China as members of their national teams.
In fact, all three overall winners in the Paralympic classes here will
represent their countries in the Paralympic Regatta set for Qingdao, China,
in September. They are USA's Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) in SKUD-18; Jens Kroker/Tobias
Schuetz/Siegmund Mainka (GER) in Sonar; and Damien Seguin (FRA) in 2.4mR.
Kroker, who could have bypassed sailing today since his team's score was
mathematically insurmountable, felt that today's light winds would provide
for good practice. "This will be the conditions of Qingdao, so today was
very important for experimenting with our rig and sails, knowing that even
if we were disqualified today we would still win overall." Kroker used to
sail 470s before he took up Sonar sailing. "In the 470, I really felt it
that I was missing a hand, but with the Sonar I am only at the helm
(steering) and not pulling lines." His crew, new to sailing when they joined
Kroker in 2006, makes him proud. "It has been a great achievement bringing
them up to speed, and winning this regatta is again a top-notch achievement
for us."
This will be Kroker's third Paralympics, and he notes that the competition
level of Paralympic sailing has steadily risen throughout the world. "Many
of these sailors here could win able-bodied championships."
Nowhere is Kroker's statement more true than with respect to the 2.4mR
class, in which as many able-bodied as disabled sailors seem to sail. In
fact, the 2.4mR class at the Rolex Miami OCR was open to both groups,
attracting a half dozen top able-bodied sailors, which Paralympic sailors
say helps them up their game. Seguin, France's Gold Medalist from the 2004
Paralympic Games, seemed to easily dominate, however, establishing his lead
early in the 25-boat fleet. Asked if having already won a Paralympic medal
took some pressure off here, Seguin said, "Not really. I want to do my best.
It's a very big fighting group here, and it's a sport, period. Any number
of countries has the ability to win the Paralympics."
In SKUD-18s, which will debut at the 2008 Paralympic Games,
Scandone/McKinnon-Tucker also dominated, winning the regatta's first five
races and two of the remaining six. The duo sat out today's last of two
races because they had the series sewn up.
"We've had our boat the longest compared to the other teams" said Scandone,
whose margins of victory were impressive in the races he and McKinnon-Tucker
won, "so the extra time in the boat paid off." Scandone's long resume of
sailing accomplishments, going back to before he was an ICSA Collegiate
All-American and US SAILING's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year (2005), could also
speak to why he has done so well. With progressive ALS (Lou Gehrig's
disease), Scandone says his focus between now and the Games is to get lots
of rest between practice sessions with McKinnon-Tucker, which are more
difficult to organize than for others. "Marblehead is about as far away as
can be from Fountain Valley, but we'll stay in the game, stay healthy, and
do our best to bring home the Gold."
Olympic Classes to Continue Sailing
Laser Radial/Laser
One of the most interesting battles setting up for tomorrow is the one
between long-time rivals Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), US SAILING Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year (2005) and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year
(2006), and Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), the USA's representative to
the Olympic Games. After sailing a first race at noon, the Laser Radial
fleet was postponed for hours on the water before starting again. Though it
fell short of exciting to watch, the second race had to have been one of the
most challenging races of the week for Railey, who showed her true
champion's colors when she won. She combined the victory with a
second-place finish in the first race to replace Tunnicliffe at the top of
the scoreboard. Railey's and Tunnicliffe's one-two overall positions are
exactly opposite of those they posted at the end of the U.S. Olympic Team
Trials for sailing. In this case, however, the point spread between them is
much larger. Tunnicliffe's finish positions of 8-16 today enabled Railey to
soar to a 15-point lead.
In the Laser class, leader Maciej Grabowski (POL) is still in a holding
pattern over Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.), who is in second and a
member of US SAILING's Elite Youth Development Team. Though this class is
devoid of many of the world champions who have attended in the past -- the
Rolex Miami OCR this year conflicts with the Laser World Championships in
New Zealand -- Rogachenko says it is still good practice and his goal early
in the week was to set himself up for Saturday's races. "I'm definitely
going for it for the next Trials," said Rogachenko.
Star
In the aggressive and champion-studded Star fleet, the race committee's
inability to conduct a second race today due to lack of wind proved a
disappointment for many who poorly managed the 6-8 knots in the first race.
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members John Dane and Austin Sperry (Gulfport,
Miss.), the USA's representatives to the Games, missed the top ten when they
finished 22nd and wound up 14th overall. Norway's Elvind Melleby and Petter
Morland Pedersen moved into first overall on the merit of their second-place
finish today, dropping yesterday's leaders, Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De
Maria (SUI), down to third, with Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau (FRA)
securing the runner-up spot with a sixth today. Hamish Pepper and Carl
Williams (NZL) were the "cut-off" tenth team after finishing 13th today.
Ynglings
Mandy Mulder, Mary Faber and Merel Witteveen (NED) maintained their lead in
the Yngling class today after two races in which they place 11th and 12th.
Also maintaining was US SAILING's Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year (2005/07)
Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) with crew Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.)
and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) Finishing 13-2 today, the trio held on
to yesterday's eighth position overall, not typical of their performances in
world-class regattas but still the ticket to continuing in the competition
tomorrow.
For tomorrow, back-to-back racing is planned for the classes, with Laser
Radials starting first. With courses shortened for approximately 30-minute
races, it should be a quick day, unless the wind causes postponements as it
has on-and-off since Monday, when this event began. The stakes are high,
just as they will be in the Olympics, with the single race weighing in for
double in the sailors' score lines and not allowed as a discard.
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.
US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR Top-Three Results
Day 5
Laser (23 boats) -- 12 races
1. Maciej Grabowski (POL), 2-1-6-4-2-5-[8]-1-2-3-4-2, 32
2. Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Penn., USA),
1-4-1-[24/OCS]-6-1-7-7-1-1-3-6, 38
3. Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.), 4-6-3-5-5-6-1-3-5-[10]-2-1,
41
Laser Radial (39 boats) -- 11 races
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 1-4-1-1-3-5-7-2-[16]-2-1, 27
2. Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla., USA), 3-1-3-2-1-12-2-1-9-8-[16], 42
3. Karin Soderstrom (SWE), 7-[40/OCS]-10-5-4-1-12-6-2-7-2, 56
Star (66 boats) - 8 races
1. Eivind Melleby/Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR), 6-2-1-5-7-1-[8]-2, 24
2. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau (FRA), 7-1-4-[34/BFD]-5-3-3-5, 28
3. Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria (SUI), 2-1-6-11-4-2-4-[17], 30
Yngling (28 boats) -- 12 races
1. Mandy Mulder/Mary Faber/Merel Witteveen (NED),
10-5-[22]-5-2-11-1-7-2-4-6-9, 62
2. Ekaterina Skudina,/Diana Krutskikh/Natalia Ivanova (RUS),
19-2-3-3-9-1-5-[24]-4-12-7-1, 66
3. Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Pippa Wilson (GBR),
6-6-1-23-1-13-[24]-10-9-10-8-8, 95
2.4mR (25 boats) -- 12 races
1. Damien Seguin (FRA), 4-2-1-3-1-3-[11]-4-4-4-7-2, 35
2. Stellan Berlin (SWE), 2-7-2-4-2-6-7-2-[18]-8-5-5, 50
3. Paul Tingley (CAN), 1-9-[26/OCS]-2-4-1-3-10-8-7-4-12, 61
SKUD-18 (10 boats) -- 11 races
1. Nick Scandone/Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Fountain Valley,
Calif./Marblehead, Mass., USA), 1-1-1-1-1-2-3-1-2-1-[11/DNS], 14
2. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (Brick, N.J./Boca Raton, Fla., USA),
[5]-3-2-2-2-5-1-2-1-2-1, 21
3. John McRoberts/Stacie Louttit (CAN), 3-2-3-4-4-1-[6]-4-3-3-6, 33
Sonar (11 boats) -- 10 races
1. Jens Kroker/Tobias Schuetz/Siegmund Mainka (GER), 1-3-2-2-1-2-2-1-[9]-5,
19
2. Bruno Jourden/Herve Larhant/Nicolas Vimont Vicary (FRA),
2-4-3-7-[12/DSQ]-1-6-5-4-1, 33
3. Paul McCarthy/Richard Whealey/Paul Ryan (IRL), 5-[9]-6-3-6-6-3-3-7-2, 41
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