ATHENS, GREECE (August 28, 2004) - On their third consecutive try at winning an Olympic medal in the Tornado class, John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) won the silver in Athens. One last race today had been their one last opportunity to pass Austria's gold medallists (and defending gold medallists from Sydney) Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher in the overall standings, but it was not meant to be. Lovell and Ogletree had been assured of no less than a silver medal going into today, and that is what they will proudly take home.
"We had a good shot at it but knew it would be tough," said Lovell. "We just didn't know how tough it would be. We tried to get Austria behind us, but they broke away and got to the right side of the course, at the critical point in the race when the right came in big time. We then had to take big chances and dropped back. It was a done deal. The way they sailed today, there was no chance to beat them." Lovell and Ogletree fell to tenth in the race, their worst race taken as a throwout in the 11-race series, while Austria climbed through the fleet to finish first.
Ogletree, who has been sailing since 1993 with Lovell, a "great friend" with whom he shares the exact same birthdate, year and all, said that initially the two were disappointed about losing the gold. Upon returning to the Agios Kosmas Sailing Center in Greece, however, the melancholy turned to delight. "Our heads were down a little, but the moment we got ashore and started talking to the media and friends and family we started realizing how great it is to conclude with a medal after trying in Savannah and Sydney. It's a dream come true."
"I'm thrilled for them," said the US Sailing Team's Head Coach Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.). "They've always been players, but this Spring they really started putting it together and won the silver medal at the 2004 Tornado World Championships. They had the package that was necessary."
they were both gold: Laser (Robert Scheidt) and Star (Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira).
Also, the Brazilian winners are remarkable sailors:
After his victory, Torben (or "turbin", as we call him) became the greatest olympic sailor medallist ever, with a total of five medals, two of them gold. He was the older Brazilian competitor and, as Roman Hagara, also carried the national flag. His brother and Tornado medalist Lars directed the campaign.
And Robert Scheidt is chasing Torben´s tally: he is a lot younger but already won three medals, two of them gold, all in Laser - besides his almost unbelievable SEVEN World titles in the class.
With those medals, sailing definitely established itself as the country´s stronger olympic sport, having won more medals to date then any other sport - including the ones that grant scores of medals per game.
Luiz