| PORTSMOUTH, R.I. USA-(23-2-2004) Persistence paid off for Kevin Hall
(Ventura, Calif./Bowie, Md.), when his fourth bid for an Olympic slot was a
winner in the Finn class of the US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing being held in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Hall had previously finished eighth at the ’92 Olympic
Trials in the Finn, fifth at the ’96 Olympic Trials in the Laser, and second
in the 2000 Olympic Trials in the 49er class. Undeniably, the fact that
Hall only picked up sailing the Finn within the last year speaks volumes
about the talent that has made him a noteworthy sailor since he won his
first world championship in 1986. By winning the first four races of the
Trials, conducted from Lauderdale Yacht Club, Hall established a commanding
lead in the 23-boat Finn fleet. Over the remaining races, he would cross
the finish line first an additional five times, including the 16th and final
race of the series -- which he did not have to sail. Although Hall picked
up a DSQ in race seven for an on-the-water infraction, he never finished a
race out of the top-four. Heading into today, he had a comfortable 21-point
cushion separating him from his closest competitor, Geoff Ewenson
(Annapolis, Md./Newport, R.I.), and with a third-place finish in the opening
race today, Hall mathematically secured his win of the Trials. The win of
the final race of the series gave him a low score of 26 points, to the 53
points belonging to Ewenson after he placed 4-6 today. Eric Oetgen
(Savannah, Ga.) posted finishes of 1-3 for 55 points to take third overall,
just one point over Bryan Boyd (Edgewater, Md.) who finished 5-8.
Down the coast, light air once more kept the 49er, Tornado and Ynlging
fleets postponed ashore, until when, at the stroke of noon, the flag came
down and all three fleets headed out on Biscayne Bay.
In the opening race today for the Yngling fleet, with just four boatlengths
to spare, Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), Liz Filter (Stevensville, Md.) and
Nancy Haberland (Annapolis, Md.) crossed the finish line first and secured
their place on the USA’s 2004 Olympic Team. That winning finish made them
mathematically unbeatable, and they elected to sit out race 16 as the
remaining five teams fought through the last race to determine the final
standings for the fleet. Counting seven points for the DNS (did not start)
in the last race, which they then discarded along with their worst placing
in the series, a fifth in race four, Cronin, Filter and Haberland won with a
low score of 31 points. Hannah Swett (New York, N.Y./Jamestown, R.I.) with
Joan Touchette (Newport, R.I.) and Melissa Purdy (Tiburon, Calif.) finished
4-3 to retain second overall on 36 points. Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wisc.),
Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.)
kept third place overall after finishes of 2-4 gave them 38 points. Jody
Swanson (Buffalo, N.Y.), Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.) and Elizabeth Kratzig
(Miami Fla./Houston, Texas), who were tied on points yesterday with Betsy
Alison (Newport, R.I.), Lee Icyda (Stuart, Fla.) and Suzy Leech (Annapolis,
Md.), prevailed in that battle. Their win of the final race of the series,
combined with a third in the day’s first race to give them 41 points to the
44 earned by Alison, Icyda and Leech after placing 5-2 today.
Cronin and Filter have been teammates in the Yngling for three and a half
years, adding Haberland to the mix only a few months ago. To win the
series, held from Key Biscayne Yacht Club, they had to beat two teams that
had won Yngling world championships in 2003: Swett, Touchette and Purdy won
the women’s world championship in Spain, while Alison, Icyda and Leech won
the open world championship in Germany. Not only will Cronin, Filter and
Haberland get to compete in Athens, but they will do so in the event making
its Olympic debut at the 2004 Summer Games.
The 49er class also saw their champions decided before the final race of the
day. Tim Wadlow (San Diego, Calif.) and Pete Spaulding (Miami, Fla.) opened
the day by winning their 10th race of the series and followed that with a
second place finish. That performance allowed them to take a DNS (did not
sail) score for the final race of the series, which they then dropped, for a
total of 48 points. Dalton Bergan (Seattle, Wash.) and Zack Maxam
(Coronado, Calif.) posted finishes of 2-1-1 to move back into second overall
on 59 points, while Andy Mack (White Salmon, Wash.) and Adam Lowry (San
Francisco, Calif.) dropped back one spot in the overall standings -- to
third -- on 64 points after finishes of 3-3-4.
After trading wins yesterday with Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) and Jonathan
Farrar (Niantic, Conn.), two-time Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.)
and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) put the hammer down in today’s first
race, turning a sizeable lead into a win. When Guck and Farrar crossed the
finish line fifth, Lovell and Ogletree became mathematically unbeatable.
Both teams elected to sit out the final race of the series, and the winners
collected 16 net points to the 24 points netted by Guck and Farrar. Robbie
Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) placed 3-3 to
retain third place overall with 38 points
The winners of these Trials now become members of the USA’s 2004 Olympic
Sailing Team wich will compete be next August in the Games of the XXVIII
Olympiad in Athens, Greece. For complete results:
www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials/2004/.
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