Medalists Named in Paralympic Classes; Olympic Classes Look for Gold Tomorrow
Rolex Miami OCR - Day Five

Posted Friday, January 29, 2010

 
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After five days of racing on Biscayne Bay, gold, silver and bronze
medalists were determined today in three Paralympic classes at US
SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR <http://RMOCR.ussailing.org> , the second
of seven stops of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing
World Cup 2009-2010. <http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/> USA racked up
the most medals with four, followed by Canada with two and one apiece
for Norway, Great Britain and The Netherlands. Also determined after
five days of racing were the Olympic class sailors (four teams from
women's match racing and top-ten finishers from fleet racing in nine
other classes) who have earned a coveted spot in tomorrow's final medal
races.

The Rolex Miami OCR, which this year hosted 448 teams (633 athletes)
from 45 nations, is one of the world's most competitive regattas for
those hoping to claim a sailing berth at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, and as such it offers hefty bragging rights for podium finishers
as well as critical points on the Sailing World Cup circuit and for
certain national team designations and rankings.

2.4mR
Canada's Paul Tingley secured the first gold of the regatta when his
2.4mR class sailed two back-to-back races (on the staggered-start
schedule) in light air. Going into today, he was in the bronze medal
position, with Thierry Schmitter (NED) leading and John Ruf (Pewaukee,
Wis.,USA) in silver position, so he decided to get gutsy.

"I wasn't going to do it by not taking a risk," said Tingley, who, with
a handful of others, chose the right-hand side of the course five
minutes into the first race. "I saw them (NED) on the pin end of the
start line and I was at the committee boat; I knew I would benefit if
the wind went right, and to my good fortune it did, and I got the win."
Meanwhile Schmitter finished ninth, and when Tingley stuck close to him
in the second race for a third-place finish to Schmitter's second, it
was game over. "The last race was mine to lose, so I knew I had to stay
in Thierry's zip code, so to say."

When asked if he was happy with silver, Schmitter said with a gracious
smile, "No and yes. Going into this morning I was first and now I'm
second. When I went left with John Ruf (who claimed bronze in the end),
that was our death. But it has been tight all week-- John led one
day,Paul one day, me one day-it's not like there was one guy through it
all who was the leader."

Tingley won a 2.4mR gold medal at the 2008 Paralympics and a Sonar
bronze in 2000. He finished third at the most recent 2.4mR Worlds, which
hosted over 100 boats (sailed by both disabled and able-bodied sailors)
and was won by Ruf. The 2.4mR is hugely popular because of its compact
size--about 14 feet long (4.2 metres)--and the fact that it requires
little physical exertion to sail. Its skipper remains seated, looking
forward at all times with the majority of his body below the waterline,
and has the choice of steering it by foot pedal or by "joy stick,"
making it an equal platform for sailors with varying physical
restrictions.

SKUD-18
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members Scott Whitman (Brick,
N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (Boca Raton, Fla./ West Chester, Pa.) continued
their winning streak by clinching the gold medal with a race to spare
today. USA's SKUD newcomers, Jen French (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and JP
Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) won a silver medal, which was impressive
considering this is only the second event they've sailed together.
French and Creignou won both races today, but in the first race, they
were called OCS for starting prematurely. Dorsett and Whitman's second
became a first, which gave them the win. They chose not to sail the last
race out of fairness to the rest of the fleet. The Canadian team of John
McRoberts and Brenda Hopkins rounded out the fleet with a bronze medal
after posting a 2-2 today.

The race itself was a game of catch-up for Dorsett and Whitman who at
first didn't know whether or not they were early at the start. To be
cautious, they decided to restart to exonerate themselves. As they tried
to catch up with the fleet, they hit another snag when they hooked a
lobster pot, crash gybed and freed themselves off the line. They ended
up rounding the mark in third, caught up with the Canadian team and
fought them downwind to the finish.

"We pinned them out to the other side, had the leeward advantage and
gybed back and beat them," said Whitman. He and Dorsett have been a
dominant force in the SKUD-18 over the last year, winning Rolex Miami
OCR and Sail for Gold in Weymouth, England, the venue of the 2012
Paralympic Games. Their 2012 Paralympic campaign is in full force, as
they plan to compete in as many national and international events as
they can.

Sonar
Norway's Sonar team of Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Per Eugen Kristiansen and
Marie Solberg grabbed gold after a low-scoring week littered with
bullets, including today's win in the last race. GBR's John Robertson,
Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas finished the event second overall, and
USSTAG's Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendall (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh
Freund (South Freeport, Me.) secured silver with a 2-2 today.

"It's fantastic," said Wang-Hansen of his team's victory. "We came here
hoping for a medal. Everything went smoothly . We had a little bit of
luck. We tacked on the shifts and suddenly we were up front."

This is the second year in a row he won the Sonar event at Rolex Miami
OCR, but last year he crewed for the British team. The common
denominator was the boat itself, a Sonar chartered from Team Paradise.

"It's a fast boat," he said. "It was good upwind and fantastic downwind.
In the last race today, we rounded fourth and were first at the bottom."

He and his new team plan to return next year to defend their title as
they move forward in their Paralympic campaign for a spot on Norway's
Paralympic Team in 2012.

U.S. skipper Doerr was pleased with his new team's performance this
week, after getting off to a slower start on the first day of racing.
"Today we stayed very patient," he said. "We tried to wait for our
opportunities to attack. Coming from behind is very challenging --
especially when the guys you need to beat are in front of you."

Olympic Classes Gear Up for Medal Races
Going into tomorrow's medal races for the Olympic classes, both Paige
Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA) and Nick Thompson (GBR), in the Laser
Radial and Laser classes, respectively, are sitting pretty. The rules of
Olympic sailing require them to race, but mathematically they have the
gold wrapped up.

For others, it's a do-or-die situation. The USA's Anna Tunnicliffe
(Plantation, Fla.) with crew Molly Vandemoer (Palo Alto, Calif.) and
Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and GBR's Lucy Macgregor, with crew Annie
Lush and Ally Martin, will sail a first-to-three points match racing
series that will determine gold and silver medals, while Australia's
Nicky Souter/Stacey Jackson/Ray Martin and France's Claire Leroy/Marie
Riou/Elodie Bertrand will sail off for bronze in the petit-finals.

The remaining Olympic classes get only one chance--a 30- to 40-minute
race-to make or break their claim to a podium position. Emulating the
Olympic format, the medal race counts double points and cannot be
counted as the one allowed discard race when it is added to a sailor's
score line from the rest of the series.

In the Finn class, GBR's Ed Wright must finish eighth or better to take
the gold, and only his Skandia Team GBR teammate Giles Scott has a shot
at blocking him. Wright is not worried, however. "He'll have a lot on,
because Zach (Railey, from Clearwater, Fla., USA) will be after him.
That's a nice cushion going into the medal race." Railey is currently in
bronze medal position behind Scott. Wright took over the lead in the
35-boat fleet two days ago and yesterday extended it by 12 points over
Scott. Today, after two races, 14 points stand between them.

"I've been doing a lot of development, so I'm happy with my gear," said
Wright, who almost cancelled coming to the regatta because of a severe
foot injury inflicted by a power boat prop. "Luckily it was just the
flesh; sailing is a lot easier than walking, especially in this light
air since I don't have to hike as hard." Nevertheless, he hopes for
stronger winds tomorrow. "That way I can stretch my legs a little."

For results and photos, visit http://rmocr.ussailing.org. Video
highlights, produced by T2Productions, air nightly through Saturday and
can be viewed on the event web site. Fans can also visit the Facebook
fan page and Twitter page.

About US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR
Established in 1990 by US SAILING, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws
elite sailors, including Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls
from around the world. This is the second of seven events in the 2010
International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit. The
USA has the largest contingent of sailors with 169, followed by Canada
(83), France (46), Great Britain (41), The Netherlands (24), Germany
(23), Denmark (18), and Sweden (18). Medals will be awarded to the top
three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic event on Saturday, January
30.

The Rolex Miami OCR hosts the same 10 Olympic and three Paralympic
classes chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions.
At the same time, it closely replicates the format and feel of what
sailors can expect at those regattas. The classes are: Laser Radial
(women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men's RS:X, Women's RS:X, 49er (men),
Men's 470, Women's 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women), 2.4mR (open,
able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled).
Regatta Headquarters are located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an
official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami,
Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide
world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event
include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove
Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing
organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water
racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies. In addition, the University of Miami Hospital will provide
on-site medical care during the event.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING's 2010 Rolex
Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Atlantis
WeatherGear, Harken, Team McLube, and the University of Miami Hospital.

About the ISAF Sailing World Cup
The ISAF Sailing World Cup is an annual series that brings together the
existing major events on the Olympic and Paralympic sailing circuits,
starting in Australia (Sail Melbourne) in December before moving to the
U.S. (US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR) in January and then on to Europe
(Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE in Palma, Spain; Semaine Olympique
Francaise in Hyeres, France; the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, The
Netherlands; and Kieler Woche in Kiel, Germany) and Great Britain
(Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue at
Weymouth). More than 2,000 of the world's leading sailors representing
65 nations competed in the first season of the World Cup, 2008-2009. By
scoring competitors across all events included in the season, the ISAF
Sailing World Cup offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in
the Olympic and Paralympic sailing worlds.

About Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.
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 supporting the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, US SAILING
championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women's
events. In 2010, Rolex will sponsor over 20 prestigious yachting events
globally, including the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series,
Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Rolex
Fastnet Race, Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race and the New York Yacht Club
Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex.

About US SAILING
US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR is organized by the United States Sailing
Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, which
provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897
and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c)
(3) non-profit organization. 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 US
Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit
http://www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Sailing Team
AlphaGraphics, please visit:http://sailingteams.ussailing.org

(end)

US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR
Top-three Finishes
Day Five

2.4mR (28 boats) - 10 races
Paul Tingley (CAN), 5-5-7-2-1-1-4-(9)-1-3, 29
Thierry Schmitter (NED), 1-3-6-3-2-4-(29/DSQ)-2-9-2, 32
John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.,USA), 2-1-2-10-3-6-1-(11)-8-1, 34

49er (36 boats) - 15 races
1. Manu Dyen/Stephane Christidis (FRA),
2-6-3-7-9-1-(15)-6-1-10-(10/OCS/RDG)-10-3-4-(37/OCS), 87
2. Nico LM Delle Karth/Nikolaus Leopold Resch (AUT),
3-5-4-14-11-8-3-5-7-14-(20)-5-2-2-15, 98
3. Simon Karstoft/Jonathon Bay (DEN),
10-23-2-5-6-3-12-14-9-3-3-3-1-(37/BFD)-8,102

Finn (37 boats) - 10 races
1. Edward Wright (GBR), 1-2-(19)-1-4-1-1-3-5-2, 20
2. Giles Scott (GBR), 2-7-1-3-3-3-(8)-6-2-7, 34
3. Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fl., USA), 4-5-4-4-1-5-4-5-9-(36/DNS), 41

RS:X Men (37 boats) - 8 races
1. Dorian Rijsselberghe (NED), 1-1-2-7-1-5-(9)-4, 21
2. Ivan Pastor (ESP), 6-5-4-1-2-3-2-(12), 23
3. Nimrod Mashiah (ISR), 2-(38/DNF)-6-6-4-14-1-3, 37

RS:X Women (25 boats) - 8 races
1. Blanca Manchon (ESP), 1-1-(10)-3-2-1-4-1, 13
2. Marina Alabau (ESP), 2-2-(4)-2-4-2-1-3, 16
3. Charline Picon (FRA), 3-3-1-(5)-1-4-3-5, 20
Star (26 boats) - 10 races
1. Andy Horton/James Lyne (Burlington, Vt., USA/Granville, Vt., USA),
2-1-3-1-4-5-(25/OCS)-1-6-4, 27
2. Eivind Melleby/Petter Morland Pederson (NOR),
1-11-2-(20)-1-1-2-2-8-2, 30
3. Mark Mendelblatt/John Von Schwarz (St. Petersburg, Fl.,
USA/Annapolis, Md., USA), 8-8-1-11-(25/OCS)-2-1-5-2-3, 41

Laser Radial (57 boats) - 10 races
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 1-1-4-10-3-9-3-1-(58/BFD)-1, 33
2. Alicia Cebrian (ESP), (58/BFD)-2-19-5-1-4-4-5-20-8, 68
3. Alison Young (GBR), 3-11-16-1-8-(25)-11-9-13-24, 96

Laser (104 boats)-10 races
1. Nick Thompson (GBR), 1-6-1-1-(23)-13-1-1-1-3, 28
2. Kyle Rogachenko (GBR), 12-9-9-15-9-3-10-4-(27)-72
3. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA), 2-11-14-11-1-3-8-(25)-16-8,74

Elliott 6m (24 boats)-
Semi-final 1:
Lucy Macgregor/Annie Lush/Ally Martin (GBR) defeats Claire Leroy/Marie
Riou/Elodie Bertrand (FRA)3-0

Semi-final 2:
Anna Tunnicliffe(/Molly Vandemoer/Debbie Capozzi (Plantation, Fla.,
USA/Palo Alto, Calif., USA/(Bayport, N.Y., USA) (USA) defeats Nicky
Souter/Stacey Jackson/Ray Martin (AUS) 3-2

Sonar (9 boats) - 10 races
1. Aleksander Wang-Hansen/Per Eugen Kristiansen/Marie Solberg (NOR),
1-4-1-1-3-1-1-3-(7)-1, 16
2. John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Steve Thomas (GBR),
3-3-2-6-1-2-2-1-(8)-4, 24
3. Rick Doerr/Brad Kendall/Hugh Freund (Clifton, NJ. , USA/Tampa, Fla.,
USA/South Freeport, Me., USA), 4-(8)-4-4-4-3-3-2-2-2, 28

470 Men (34 boats) - 10 races
1. Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela (ISR), 2-6-4-6-12-(13)-2-13-6-9, 60
2. Mathew Belcher/Malcolm Page (AUS), 3-(19)-10-18-5-2-1-17-2-3, 61
3. Anton Dahlberg/Sebastian A-stling (SWE), 7-4-2-8-11-(19)-4-4-16-5, 61
470 Women (26 boats) - 10 races
1. Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer (DEN), 8-4-5-6-1-(10)-2-1-2-3, 32
2. Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux (FRA), 10-2-1-(11)-5-2-1-2-4-6, 33
3. Amanda Clark/Sarah Chin (Shelter Island Heights, Ny.,USA/Hoboken
N.J., USA), 7-6-2-1-3-1-(13)-3-3-8, 34

SKUD-18 (7 boats)-10 races
1. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (Brick, N.J., USA/Boca Raton, Fla., USA),
1-3-1-1-1-2-2-2-1-(8/BNF), 14
2. Jennifer French/Jean-Paul Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA/St.
Petersburg, Fla., USA), 2-2-3-4-6-1-1-1-(8/OCS)-1, 21
3. John McRoberts/Brenda Hopkin (CAN), 3-4-2-2-3-4-(6)-4-2-2, 26