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Team Challenge US at the Pre-Trials Day One The Olympic Pre-Trials began today on Biscayne Bay for the 22 boat Yngling fleet. Both US and international competitors are eligible to compete in this 7 race series. The top US team will earn the right to represent the United States at the Olympic Test event in August in Athens, Greece. The Key Biscayne Yacht Club ran 3 races today for the Women's Yngling division. The first two were in fairly light southerly breezes. Jody Swanson took the gun in race #1, and Hannah Swett finished first in race #2. Race #3 proved charmed for Team Challenge US, as the ladies capitalized on a good start to round in second behind the French team. Over the course of the 4 leg race, Alison, Icyda and Leech ground down the French sailors to get the gun. Their finishes of 4 -7 - 1 (12) currently place them in third behind Swett 3 -1 -3 (7) and Swanson with 1 - 2 - 7 (10). Racing is tight within the fleet as some of the best in the world are competing here in Miami during this early winter season. Most will then pack up to head to Europe for the full spring and summer seasons. With 4 more races to go over the next two days, tension and excitement will mount as the racing progresses. "There is quite a lot of racing to go," said Alison post-race, "and you can bet that positions will change over the course of the day. The conditions will play a part who performs well on the course on any given day, and being able to remain calm and focused will be key." Team Challenge US just found out that they have moved into second in the ISAF international rankings behind Monica Azon of Spain and her team. "We are pleased that our team is moving up in the rankings due to our on the water achievement," added Leech, " We are working hard to become the best we can possibly be, and believe that the best is yet to come!" Racing tomorrow will commence at 11 AM off the tip of Key Biscayne. Please stay tuned for more updates on the progress of Team Challenge US, and their quest to win the Pre-Trial event this weekend. Thanks for your continued support - we appreciate it!
US Teams Dominate Pre-Trials; Team Challenge US Fights for Third With six of the seven races of the 2003 Pre-Trials complete, US teams have been dominating the event, Hannah Swett leads the series with 10 points followed closely by Jody Swanson with 11. Both teams are mathematically untouchable as their discard races are not that bad - both in the top 9. Team Challenge US will fight to retain third today where they currently sit in the standings. They are followed closely by Carol Cronin and team who are four points behind. It has been an interesting series to date. Light southerly winds that characterized the first day of racing were replaced with moderate northeasterlies. Some big shifts in direction came through each of the three race courses as the day wore on. In the first race of the day, Team Challenge sailed very well hovering in fifth for most of the race. Swanson led wire ot wore, but Swett, Alison, Wagner of Germany and Azon of Spain battled fiercely for the following places. Alison, Icyda and Leech patiently waited for their opportunity to make a move late on the final run to take second in the race. Race two of the day saw the Team sail an average first windward leg, rounding in the top ten. An immediate jibe after the set would prove costly as the opposing side downwind filled with better pressure dropping Team Challenge in the fleet. As they cleared out towards the left (where the leaders had come from on the first windward), a huge shift to the right damaged all chances for recovery in the race. This race would become their throw out for the series, and damaged serious hopes for winning the regatta. The Race Committee decided to run a third race in the stronger breeze conditions, as forecasts for Sunday were for lighter and more variable wind. Team Challenge US had a great start, and led at the top mark followed closely by Swett. Swett was able to jibe first and though neck and neck for most of the leeward leg, Swett was able to command the favored left gate and Alison and company rounded the right. Again, a right shift enabled several boats to gain an advantage over Team Challenge up the middle windward - unfortunately most of them US teams. Swett led for the rest of the race, followed by Swanson, Barkow, Cronin and Wagner. Though Tema Challenge US made a heroic attempt to pass on the final run to the finish, catching up to within a few boatlengths, the course was too short to make the final pass and they finished sixth in the race. The final race is scheduled for 11 AM Sunday morning and will determine the US entry to the Pre-Olympic Test event in Athens. This is the final event in the 2003 ranking system for the Ynglings to determine the US Sailing Team. Stay tuned for final results Alison, Icyda and Leech Take Bronze Medal at Pre-Trials In the third and final 2003 ranking event for US Sailing Team, Team Challenge US executed their game plan perfectly to secure third place in the US Pre-Trials on Key Biscayne. Their third place finish in this event allowed them to tie Sally Barkow in cumulative ranking points, and win the tie break to be #1 on the US Sailing Team for 2003! The recent performances on the water of Alison, Icyda and Leech have vaulted the team to second in the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) rankings from their former position of seventh. Since they could not mathematically win the Pre-Trials, the plan was to stay close to Carol Cronin (4th) and make sure that Barkow did not finish better than sixth in the overall scoring for the event. After a great start, the Team was able to do just that by herding both competitors towards the unfavored left side and staying with them around the race course. Monica Azon of Spain won the final race, and in the dog fight for first overall, Hannah Swett match raced Jody Swanson to win the event and the right to represent the USA at the Pre-Olympic Test Event to be held in Athens in August. "Having Anthony Koutoun coach us at the Pre-Trials was very helpful us at this event," said Icyda. "We have never used private coaching before and realize that it is a valuable and necessary tool that we need to employ more as the Olympic Trials get closer. Ideally we would love to have a coach full-time to help us reach our goals." Funding for that resource is the limiting factor at the moment, since priority has gone towards building the new boat that will be shipped to Spain today for the European sailing season. (For more information go to the Team web site at www.challengeus.org). The Pre-Trials is designed to simulate the Olympic Trials in course configuration and length, in location, and in Race Management. High pressure is associated with the event, with so much at stake: this year, berth to the Athens Test Event - next year to the Olympic Games! The only differences from 2003 to the actual Trials in 2004 are that only US teams will be eligible to compete, the duration of the event will be longer and the number of races greater. Pre-Trial
Results (top 10) 2003
US Sailing Team Rankings For all the latest information on Team Challenge US [Betsy Alison, Lee Icyda and Suzy Leech], please visit our website at http://www.challengeUS.org |
