2008 Summer Beijing Olympic Games Preview - Sailing

2008 Summer Beijing Olympic Games Preview - Sailing

The United States Olympic Sailing Program is in the midst of an exciting resurgence, fueled by unprecedented talent and a strong spirit. Under the new leadership of Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner, Olympic Director Katie Kelly and High Performance Director Gary Bodie and a new generation of sailing talent, the sport is building a new program of strength on and off the water. The U.S. sailing team is highly competitive with the best in the world in many Olympic Classes. The team has had an unprecedented number of athletes who have produced exceptional results, including podium finishes at the top-three international regattas: U.S. Sailing's Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR) in Miami, FL, Kiel Week in Kiel, Germany and the Holland Regatta.

The sport of sailing makes its 24th appearance in the Summer Olympics and will be held at Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center. Qingdao is a Chinese coastal city that faces the Yellow Sea to the east and south. Some weather forecasters are calling for light wind during the races, so expect some very slow moving races and extended racing days.

There are 11 different classes of boats competing in the Olympics and the United States has qualified in all of them. The U.S. team will consist of 18 athletes, 11 men and seven women. Of the 18, four are Olympic veterans.

In the 49er class, Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast bring veteran leadership to the U.S. class. Wadlow is the skipper and will make his second Olympic appearance, while Rast makes his fourth, including a coaching stint at the 2000 games in Australia. The two competed against each other in the 2004 games, but combined forces this year and were almost unbeatable in the Olympic Trials in San Diego.

Andrew Campbell is the skipper in the Laser division. Campbell, who recently graduated from Georgetown University (2006), comes with solid credentials and good DNA in the Summer Games. His father, Bill Campbell, was a three-time All- American and a member of a winning America's Cup team. Campbell needed a strong finish to beat Brad Funk at the Olympic Trials to earn the place on the team.

Ben Barger and Nancy Rios will make up the RS:X (Windsurfing) Team. Barger needed four straight wins in the Trials to upset former medalist Michael Gebhardt and gain the Olympic berth. As for Rios, this will be her first Olympics and at age 20, she hopes to follow in the footsteps of such international stars as Barbara Kendall of New Zealand and current world champion Alessandra Sensini of Italy.

Zach Railey is the skipper in the Finn class. The multi-talented Railey was nationally ranked in two different classes: Laser (2001-2004) and Finn (2005-2008). However, Railey makes his Olympic debut in 2008 fresh off winning the Team Trials in California. In 2007, Railey was the No.1-ranked U.S. Finn sailor, according to the ISAF World Rankings.

The last two years have been a wild ride for Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe. Since graduating from Old Dominion in 2005, the English-born Tunnicliffe has vaulted her way to No.1 ranking in the world in her class. She was named the United States Olympic Committee's SportsWoman of the Year, finished first at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in the Netherlands earlier this year, and posted three wins in 2007, including the Olympic Team Trials in Rhode Island.

It's all about family in the Star class, as John Dane III and his son-in-law, Austin Sperry make up a strong U.S. team that is ranked No.1. Dane finally gets his shot at the Olympics after missing out twice before. The 58-year-old Dane knows this might be his last shot at Olympic gold. "Winning the Star Trials and beating a multiple medalist like Mark Reynolds and competitors like Mark Mendelblatt, George Szabo and Andy Horton at the young age of 57 (2007), is by far my most significant sailing achievement."

The 470 Men's Class will be represented by Stu McNay (skipper) and Graham Biehl (crew). Both sailors tried out for past Olympic games, but were denied. They teamed up and formed one of top-ranked 470 class teams in the country. They have big shoes to fill, as in the 2004 games in Athens, Americans Kevin Burnham and Paul Foerster took home the gold medal.

Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler make up the top-ranked U.S. Women's 470 team. After missing out on the 2004 games, they trained hard overseas and came into the Trials more determined than ever. For Mergenthaler, she is a well decorated athlete outside of sailing. She was the first high school athlete in her district to earn varsity letters in five different sports, the first high school female in New Jersey to convert a field goal in a varsity football game as a place-kicker, a record-breaker in the javelin throw in college, a varsity soccer player all four years of college who also played semi-pro, and recipient of numerous athlete-of-the-year awards.

Skipper Sally Barkow and crew members Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi make up the Yngling class for Team USA. They have been ranked No.1 in the Yngling class since 2005. Barkow's credentials include being a two-time U.S. Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year (2005, 2007) and a three-time winning skipper at the U.S. Sailing Women's Keelboat Championships.

The Tornado class features Skipper John Lovell and his crew member Charlie Ogletree. To make the Olympic team, the duo had to win the final four races at the trials - earning their fourth Olympic appearance. They were eighth in 1996, seventh in 2000 and four years ago, walked away with a silver medal. Born on the same day and only an hour apart, Lovell and Ogletree bring solid leadership to Team USA and good chance at another medal.

Since Sailing was introduced in the Olympics in 1896, the United States sits atop the medal standings with 18 gold, 22 silver and 17 bronze (57 total). Great Britain is second with 45 medals, followed by Sweden and Norway. China, the host city of the Summer Olympics, has won just two medals overall.

The top competitors outside of the United States include Brazilian Robert Scheidt (Star Class). Along with teammate Bruno Prada, they teamed to win back-to-back golds at the World Championships and won the Olympic Test event last year. Scheidt has won two gold medals (1996, 2004) and a silver in 2000.

England's Ben Ainslie will compete in his fourth straight Olympics and seeks his third gold medal. Ainslie is a two-time World Sailor of the Year and switched to the Finn class in 2002, where he won the gold medal in Athens.

Sailing begins competition on Saturday, August 9th and runs through the