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Friday, September 29
Reynolds shows his stuff, takes gold
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- There are a lot of reasons Mark
Reynolds is called the star of the Star class, perhaps none bigger
than the way he sailed to his second Olympic gold medal.
Reynolds, a San Diego sailmaker, turned trouble at the start
into the first U.S. sailing gold medal since he won the Star gold
at Barcelona in 1992.
Reynolds, 44, and his crew, Magnus Liljedahl, 46, of Miami, was
assured of at least the bronze medal Saturday (Friday night EDT),
and it looked like that was what they'd get after being forced over
the starting line early by Gavin Brady, a New Zealander who lives
in America.
Reynolds had to turn back and cross the starting line again.
Instead of being buried in the 16-boat fleet, Reynolds, a four-time
Olympian, gained from a wind shift on the right side of the Pacific
Ocean course, while most everyone else thought the first shift
would come on the left side.
Reynolds rounded the buoy at the top of the windward first leg
in second place, which, as it turned out, was gold medal position.
He held off Britain skipper Ian Walker, who finished third and
settled for silver. Reynolds and Walker came into the race tied for
second on points, but Walker held the tiebreaking edge.
Defending Star gold medalist Torben Grael of Brazil came into
the race with a five-point lead over Walker and Reynolds. He was
disqualified for being over the line early and not turning back to
restart, but still got the bronze.
Grael was the tactician aboard Italy's Luna Rossa, which was
swept in the America's Cup finals by New Zealand earlier this year.
Reynolds' gold helps restore some glitter to the American
sailing team, which was embarrassed in its home waters in Savannah,
Ga., in 1996 by winning just two bronzes. Four years earlier at
Barcelona, the United States won medals in nine of 10 classes,
including the gold won by Reynolds and his crew, Hal Haenel.
Reynolds, who owns a sail loft near the San Diego Yacht Club,
won the silver medal in 1988. He is a second-generation Star sailor
and protege of Dennis Conner.
Reynolds sailed into the top three with a strong showing in
three straight races on Friday.
He was assured of a medal in an off-the-water development.
Bermuda's Peter Bromby sought and received redress for a breakdown
that kept him from starting one of Friday's races, but Bromby's
adjusted score wasn't enough to give him a shot at a medal.
So Reynolds and Liljedahl needed only to battle Brazil and
Britain for the gold. All three were guaranteed a medal.
After a slow start in the regatta, Reynolds and Liljedahl had a
strong day Friday (Thursday night EDT). They won the 10th fleet
race by leading at every mark, and also finished second and fourth.
They've won fleet races on consecutive days.
The deciding race was sailed in moderate breeze and heavy swales
off the cliffs of the Sydney Heads.
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