2008 Paralympic Sailing Competition - Day Four

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker win gold with two races to spare in the SKUD-18 class at the 2008 Paralympic regatta © Mike Pinckney

Brits focussed on final medal push

Britain’s Paralympic sailors will be looking for one final massive effort on the closing day of the Beijing 2008 regatta as they bid to upset the odds and clinch last-gasp sailing silverware for ParalympicsGB tomorrow.

The Brits currently sit in fourth, seventh and eighth across the three classes but all three boats still have the mathematical possibility of snatching medals from the clasps of the current leaders going into the final two races.

Helena Lucas in the 2.4mR one-person keelboat is arguably the Brit with the best medal shot, lying in seventh on 38 points eight points behind Heiko Kruger (GER), who currently occupies the bronze medal position.

Having only completed two races in Qingdao today (Friday 12 September), taking them up to eight races in total, the 2.4mR fleet will be able to discard their worst two series’ scores on completion of the next race.

With two races scheduled for all fleets tomorrow, this means that the lowest points total Lucas can accrue is 30 so a mammoth effort and two top scores from her final races could yet propel her on to the podium.

Lucas scored a discarded 12th and confidence-bolstering second in her races today. At the top of the pack Paul Tingley (CAN) has reclaimed pole position from Canadian John Ruf with 24 points to Ruf’s 29.

RYA Olympic Manager Stephen Park believes that a medal is still within Lucas’ grasp. He said: “Helena has still got a chance tomorrow; it is tough ask but it is certainly doable.

“The winds again today were light, patchy and shifting making things very tricky again. The scores in the 2.4mR largely reflect the conditions across the series in that everyone has discarded a high score so far so there is still some distance to go in that fleet.”

Niki Birrell and Alex Rickham in the SKUD two-person boat also only completed two of their three scheduled races today picking up a fourth and a seventh. They lie in fourth overall in the fleet on 34 points, with third-placed Australian’s Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox on 19 points.

With another discard to come into play for the SKUD’s on the completion of race nine tomorrow, the best overall points total Birrell and Rickham can finish on is 28 points. Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon Tucker sit pretty at the top of the pile on nine points.

Park said: “Niki and Alex had reasonable starts and were near the front of the fleets for most of both races. But they struggled a bit on the downwind leg and in the second race they didn’t get the result they needed to make the gains on the boats ahead of them.”

Birrell added: “We are disappointed not to be in stronger position going into the final day but we are determined to go out and finish with two bullets.”

The Sonar fleet were the only fleet to complete their full schedule of three races today meaning they are now carrying two discarded scores.

John Robertson, Stephen Thomas and Hannah Stodel finished the day with 8, 6, 3 scores to put them on 38 points overall in eighth. They lie 12 points off the bronze medal position currently held by Jens Kroker, Robert Prem and Siegmund Mainka (GER). The best overall total the Brits can now amass is 40 points.

French trio Bruno Jourdren, Herve Larchant and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary lead the Sonar pack on 21 points.

Park added: “John’s crew were struggling to get clear starts and that resulted in them having to tack away from their desired strategy. Every additional tack, especially in these conditions, means you lose distance and it just gets harder and harder. They had good downwind speed but it wasn’t enough to make the gains back.

“They, like all the sailors, have put very strong campaigns together and they are committed to finishing with the best possible final result they can.”

Racing is due to commence at 12pm local time tomorrow (5am British time) – no race will start later than 4pm local time (9am British time).

Unlike the Olympic Regatta, there is no double points’ medal race sailed on the last day of the regatta rather the sailor(s) finishing on the lowest number of points at the end of the series wins the gold medal.

For the lowdown on the ParalympicsGB team sailors and the most-up-to-date information straight out of the British camp in Qingdao, visit www.rya.org.uk/beijing2008

Irish Update (from Bernadette Fox)

Top three result in today’s racing for Irish Paralympic Sailors in Qingdao

Ireland’s Paul McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Richard Whealey placed 3rd in race 7 today in the Sonar class. They followed this with a 4th and 10th place in race 8 and 9 respectively and now lie in 9th position overall. France continues to remain in 1st place overall.

Two races remain in their series but with the Medal Ceremony also scheduled for tomorrow the Irish crew will need the wind on their side to ensure racing takes place as they aim to improve on their overall placing.

In the Skud 18 class Amy Kelehan and John Twomey placed 10th and 9th in race 7 and race 8 and therefore remain in 10th place overall. America continue to hold the lead in this fleet.

Racing will resume tomorrow (Saturday, 13th September). In the Sonar class, race 10 & 11 are expected to take place tomorrow while race 9, 10 and 11 are scheduled tomorrow in the Skud 18 class. The medal ceremony will take place tomorrow in both classes.

USA Update (from Marni Lane)

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker clinch gold with two races left

Nick Scandone (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) clinched the gold medal in the SKUD-18 fleet Friday with two races left to go in the Paralympic regatta. The unstoppable team won two more races today, strengthening their substantial nine-point lead ahead of their competitors. John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) sits in second place in the 2.4 mR fleet, while the Sonar team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass.) and Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J.), had their single best racing day of the regatta today.

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker plan to race tomorrow, the last day of the regatta, even though they have already secured the gold medals. “It’s almost hard to believe," said Scandone, incredulously. "I won’t feel like it’s real until the gold medal is placed around my neck.”

“I feel exhausted, very satisfied and somewhat overwhelmed all at the same time,” he said. “It’s been such a long road to get here,” he said. “It’s emotionally overwhelming for me to finally realize my goal.”

For Scandone, this gold medal is everything he has dreamed of and worked hard to achieve. As his condition progressed from ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, it became increasingly more difficult to train and compete. There were days filled with doubt, but he met each obstacle with the same strength and determination he had as a young, able-bodied sailor. “This is something I’ve strived for since I was 20 years old, when I was trying to go for gold in the 470 class. Now, to reach that goal,” he said, “it’s hard to describe in words.”

Mary-Kate Scandone has supported her husband every step of his Olympic and Paralympic journey, through the accomplishments and the adversity and through the enthusiasm and exhaustion. “I have seen struggles behind the scenes that were so tremendous to overcome,” she said. “It was so hard to just get here. There were many times Nick doubted he was going to make it to China.”

“I feel so much joy that he has achieved this goal,” she added. “Now it’s time to go home and rest.”

This is a bittersweet moment for the couple. “It’s everything we’ve been fighting for,” said Mary-Kate. “Sailing and his [Paralympic] goal has kept him alive.” In an emotional moment, Mary-Kate thanked the designer of Nick’s boat “because he gave me four more years with my husband,” she said.

Today, they are basking in the moment of this momentous experience. “Let’s think about today and every moment and every second of this experience,” Mary-Kate told Nick. “It’s still not over yet.”

Nick Scandone credits a team of people who have assisted him in reaching his Paralympic goals. “This gold medal is not only for me and Maureen,” he said. “It’s for all the other people who have helped me along the way, from my yacht club to family and friends who have supported me throughout my venture.”

The entire team celebrated Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker’s gold medal achievement today after racing, providing their teammates the confidence and positive mental attitude going into the last day of racing. “Their gold medal performance is a combination of a lot of hard work two of them to put together,” said an ecstatic Head Coach Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.). “I couldn’t be prouder of our team and our athletes’ efforts. Everyone is supporting each other.”

The Sonar team of Skipper Doerr and his crew, Angle and Donohue had their single best racing day of the regatta, with strong second, third and fourth place finishes. Doerr’s team won their fleet today by earning the lowest combined score in the Sonar class. The heavy team welcomed more wind today (6 to 8 knots), after a week of limp air that wreaked havoc on their speed and confidence.

“This light stuff is just a horror,” he said. “We didn’t have the boat speed to punch out.”

Once the wind hit 8 knots, Doerr said his boat started rumbling, and their boat speed increased. Their second, third and fourth place scores proved their decision to race conservatively was right on track. “It was all about being smart, staying in touch and doing all the basic things right. We had enough velocity across the course to sail our regular game plan.”

“We knew if we stayed in the hunt, we’d be proud of our performance,” said Doerr. He said his team stayed relaxed on the water today, after fighting stressful and challenging conditions all week. They replaced their nervousness and anxiety with optimism. “I don’t know if that made us sail better, but we felt a lot better today. The pressure was off.”

A tropical storm looms in the China Sea, which could bring more breeze and big waves on the race course tomorrow. This is music to Doerr’s ears. “It would be idyllic for us,” said Doerr. “We’re salivating.”

“If we get the same kind of conditions we had today, we might be able to threaten this fleet a little more,” challenged Doerr. “They may have experienced a false sense of security. We may be the dark horse on the outside that no one is paying attention to.”

2.4 mR sailor Ruf sailed two races today, adding a third place finish to his scorecard and dropping his lowest score of tenth place. Ruf sits in an admirable second place going into the final day of racing. “John is focused on the positive and moving forward,” said Alison. “He’s ready to get the job done.”

“When the die is rolled and the scores come out, we can absolutely say we put our best foot forward,” said Alison.

The final two races of the regatta are scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, September 13. The medals will also be awarded tomorrow. The regatta includes a total of eleven races over five days throughout the week. There will not be a medal race in the Paralympic Regatta, unlike the Olympic Regatta last month.

More information and full results on the ISAF Paralympic Microsite