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08/02/07 Registration Open for 2008 US Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing Registration to compete at the 2008 Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials is available online. Six yacht clubs in Southern California and Newport, R.I. will host the Team Trials for the Olympic and Paralympic classes from October 3-14, 2007. Upon approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee, the athletes who win the Trials in each class will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team and U.S. Paralympic Team and compete in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in China. US SAILING and Vanguard Sailboats Send Team to Laser Radial Youth Championship US SAILING and Vanguard Sailboats, an official sponsor of the US Sailing Team, will send a team of talented youth sailors to represent the United States at the 2007 Laser Radial World Championship Scheveningen, The Netherlands. More than 270 sailors from 32 countries will compete in split male and female fleets for the Youth World Champion title over six days of racing, beginning August 4. The five sailors who make up the US Laser Radial Youth World Team are: Philip Crain (Houston, Texas), Justin Doane (Nokomis, Fla.), Colin Smith (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Ian Sutherland (Toms River, N.J.) and Jerry Tullo (Staten Island, N.Y.). U.S. Sailors Bring Home Four Medals from Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil USA sailors have brought home a stash of medals -- two gold, a silver and a bronze -- from the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which concluded Sunday. After a week of tight competition and less-than-ideal weather conditions, Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) won the Laser and Laser Radial fleets, respectively. The Lightning trio of David Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.), Bill Faude (Chicago, Ill.) and Jody Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.) earned a silver medal, only five points behind Chile. Three-time Olympic medalist Paul Foerster won a bronze medal in the Sunfish. Overall, the U.S. earned the second highest medal count behind Brazil, which pulled in three gold and two silver medals. Read more: http://ussailing.org/olympics/PanAm/ 10 Questions for Pan Am Games Gold Medalist Andrew Campbell US SAILING caught up with Andrew Campbell, who shared how it feels to win a major international event: 1. Congratulations! How does it feel to win gold? I honestly can't believe that it all fell into place so nicely. I tried as hard as I could to make as few mistakes as possible. So, to be on the podium with the caliber of sailors like those in my fleet is an incredible honor and outstanding recognition. 2. The Laser fleet was filled with big names, like Brazil's Robert Scheidt, a two-time Olympic champion and three-time Pan Am Games gold medalist - not to mention the hometown favorite. Beating him must feel pretty good. Throughout the regatta, how did you feel you stacked up with the competition throughout the week? I was lucky enough to break out to an early lead and then hold that throughout the rest of the regatta. I wanted to set the pecking order early and then reduce the mistakes on every leg of every race. Luckily that was enough to hold off the likes of a three-time defending Pan Am gold medalist and a number of very experienced sailors. I knew I could beat everybody in the fleet going into the regatta, I had done it before against all the other sailors, so I wasn't afraid of the competition, but I was well aware of the fact that they would be on the top of their games as well. 3. How significant is this win at this particular regatta? How important are the Pan Am Games in your Olympic campaign? This win is a big one for me personally. It is certainly one of the highlights of my sailing career. This Pan Am Games was an important event to me for practicing peaking at the right time. I think I've got a good feel for how I need to train to peak performance before important regattas, so this was a very helpful event in those terms. To win a gold medal at this event, though, will be a major highlight in my campaign thus far and I hope that it is something that all my supporters and sponsors can be proud to be a part of. 4. What were your goals going into this event? My goal was to make it to the medal race in contention for a medal. I knew I could win the event, but to say the least, I exceeded my own expectations. 5. The Medal Race was high drama and a tight battle. What lesson did you learn? The most important lesson that I learned was that we should never give up on the battle to catch boats. You hear the cliché: catch one boat at a time, and it is absolutely the truth. In situations where it looks like there is no hope left, it still needs to be the first priority to stick to the fundamentals of boatracing and catch as many boats as possible. One of the college sailing lessons that I think is most important: every point counts. For the details of the Medal Race and Campbell's weekly Monday Morning Tactician article, please visit: www.campbellsailing.com 6. How did it feel to stand on the podium during the medal ceremonies? I can't lie, it felt great. The Brazilian crowd loves Robert and there is no doubt that he got the loudest applause of our ceremony, but when the Star Spangled Banner plays over the loudspeaker, and a hush goes over the crowd, that is something you never forget. 7. What did you make of the conditions in Rio de Janeiro? The conditions were very difficult, but manageable. The high mountains and swirling current were really fun to have to try and figure out everyday, and to be honest, the tough conditions made the event much more enjoyable from the tactical side of things. 8. The weather delays must have been tough this week. How did you fill the time waiting? Waiting around is an unfortunate necessity of our sport sometimes, and you learn to deal with it. I had a great squad of teammates around me here, and the supporting coaches and staff kept things upbeat and focused when necessary. The long bus rides and long waits on the water are something that everybody has to go through, so being better at the waiting game was just as important as any other aspect of the regatta. 9. How was being a part of the Pan Am Games experience? The event was fantastic. I had more fun outside of the sailing center than I anticipated. My roommates were the silver medal Lightning team and bronze medal Sunfish sailor Paul Forester, who is no stranger to the Olympic village-like scene. We went to swimming races, men’s and women's basketball games, handball games, fencing matches, mingled with athletes of all shapes and sizes, famous winners and humble competitors. I had an absolute blast being around the scene and enjoying the spirit of the Games. I can't say enough about how great it was to have a supportive group of sailors on the team down here, and being a part of Team USA on the whole is something we all enjoyed very much. 10. What's next for you? I'm heading back to the New York and then California for some much needed rest and relaxation before I drive back east to start the fall season training for the Olympic trials in October. About the Teams
The 2007 USDST also consists of the top three ranked sailors in each of
the three classes chosen for the 2008 Paralympic Games: the 2.4mR, the
Sonar, and SKUD-18. For a complete list of the 2007 USDST and their
hometowns, please visit:
Newly launched in 2007, the Elite Youth Development Team represents the
country's top youth sailors in the Laser and Laser Radial. To help the
athletes gain more sailing experience at the highest levels, members of
the Team will travel to major international regattas worldwide and be
supported by elite-level coaches. To meet the members of the 2007
EYDT
and read their bios, please visit: |
