USA'S Soling Team Kicks Off Olympic Regatta With A Victory

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  U.S. Olympic Committee Press Attache Barby MacGowan, 
                 numeric pager 1-800-946-4646 (pin #2004301)

USA'S SOLING TEAM KICKS OFF OLYMPIC REGATTA WITH A VICTORY

SAVANNAH, GA (July 22, 1996)--USA's Soling team of Jeff Madrigali, Kent Massey and Jim Barton (San Anselmo/Santa Barbara/Fairfax, Calif.) won the first race of their Olympic Regatta by 5 1/2 seconds today. Behind a pack of eight boats on the third leg of a six-leg course, the trio decided to break away and find a better breeze. Instead, they got a favorable shift that put them in the hunt for victory with the Russian team, which finished second. "We were fortunate," said crewman Massey, as he packed his gear on the Day Marina. He referred to the maneuver as much as to finishing what they started--racing for all but the Solings, Stars and Finns was either abandoned or cancelled altogether due to a major thunderstorm that yielded torrential rains and severe lightning for more than an hour.

Not as lucky was USA's Finn sailor Will Martin (Charleston, S.C.), whose premature start in today's only race put him at the bottom of the scoreboard. With 11 races scheduled and two throwouts allowed, however, Martin feels he has plenty of opportunity to redeem himself.

USA's defending champions in the Star class, Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel (San Diego/Los Angeles, Calif.), finished fourth in today's single race.

The storm foiled a great race for Tornado sailors John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree (New Orleans, La./Kemah, Tex.). "We were in third when they called the race, and our main competition was really buried," said Lovell, who conceded that lightning struck so close to him the hair on his arm stood up.

Also sailing for the USA in Europes is Courtenay Becker-Dey (Rye, N.Y./The Dalles, Ore.); in 470 Men's--1992 Olympic Silver Medalists Morgan Reeser and Kevin Burnham (Wilton Manors/Coral Gables, Fla.); in 470 Women's--Kristina Stookey and Louise Van Voorhis (Darien, Conn./Webster, N.Y.); in Lasers--1994 National Champion Nick Adamson (Newport Beach, Calif.); in Mistral Men's--1992 Olympic and 1995 Pan Am Games Silver Medalist Mike Gebhardt (Ft. Pierce, Fla.); in Mistral Women's--1992 Olympian and 1995 Pan Am Games Bronze Medalist Lanee Butler (Aliso Viejo, Calif.);

The 1996 Olympic Regatta is hosting 458 sailors from 73 countries. Racing continues tomorrow in all classes except the 470, which is scheduled to begin competition on Wednesday.

Yachting Notes

Rapid transit . . . Athlete buses from the Village to the Olympic Marina are escorted by police cars with flashing lights, which stop traffic at intersections so no time is wasted making the 20-minute trip. The shuttle from the Olympic Marina to the Day Marina is not as quick (45 minutes) but nevertheless fits the high-speed profile. Again escorts--provided by the Coast Guard--flank the flat-bottom people carriers, which hold about 40 athletes at a time.

Can I buy you a drink? . . . To insure that no one gets dehydrated in the scorching Savannah sun, Coca-Cola has provided athletes and officials with a free drink ticket, which substitutes for a dollar bill in any of the numerous drink machines around the venue.

The doctor is in . . . Because of sailing's remote venue, the U.S. Olympic Committee had no choice but to assign one of its medical staff full-time to the U.S. Olympic Yachting Team. Dr. John Lelond, the Jock Doc, has a handful of USA Team counterparts in Atlanta who serve several sports at once.

Not quite Di . . . Princess Anne (sister of Charles, daughter of Liz) visited the Day Marina today for a look-see. How did she get that coveted Day Pass to go aboard? She's the president of the Royal Yachting Association, by jove.

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(results following)

1996 Olympic Regatta

DAY 1 Results (Top-three and USA)

July 22, 1996



Position, Skipper/Crew (Hometown), Country, Finish Positions, Cumulative Score.



EUROPE (28 boats)--racing cancelled



FINN (31 boats)

1, Jose Maria van der Ploeg, ESP, 1, 1.

2, Yuriy Tokovyy, UKR, 2, 2.
3, Michael Maier, CZE, 3, 3.
30(t), Will Martin, Charleston, S.C., USA, PMS*, 32.

470 MEN (36 boats)--no scheduled racing today

470 WOMEN (22 boats)--no scheduled racing today

LASER (56 boats)--racing abandoned

MISTRAL MEN (46 boats)--racing cancelled

MISTRAL WOMEN (27 boats)--racing cancelled

SOLING (22 boats)
1,  Jeff Madrigali/Kent Massey/Jim Barton (San Anselmo/Santa Barbara/Fairfax, Calif.), USA, 1, 1.
2, Georgiy Shayduko/Dmitriy Shabanov/Igor Skalin, RUS, 2, 2.
3, Garrett Connolly/Marshall King/Daniel O'Grady, IRL 3, 3.

STAR  (25 boats)
1, Ross MacDonald/Eric Jespersen, CAN, 1, 1.
2, Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira, BRA, 2, 2.
3, Rod Davis/Donald Cowie, NZL, 3, 3.
4,  Mark Reynolds/Hal Haenel (San Diego/Los Angeles, Calif.), USA, 4, 4.

TORNADO (19 boats)--racing abandoned

PMS*=Premature Start


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