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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barby MacGowan, USOC Press Officer, mobile 0408 116 065
MCKEE BROTHERS SAIL TO BRONZE AT OLYMPIC REGATTA
Sydney, Australia (Sept. 25, 2000) Jonathan and Charlie McKee (both Seattle, Wash.), won the Olympic bronze medal, the first sailing medal for Team USA, after sailing a 16th and final race today in the 49er class. The brothers won the race, their fourth such victory at the regatta, with an extensive 1:26 lead on the fiercely competitive 17-boat fleet. After high-fiving, they looked around to confirm Great Britain's race position: a third that gave skipper Ian Barker and crew Simon Hiscocks the silver medal. Finland's Thomas Johanson and Jyrki Jarvi had secured the gold after 15 races, and only Spain truly could have foiled the McKee brothers' medal chances today.
"We had two issues today," said Jonathan. "One, make sure Spain didn't win the race, and two, if we had the chance, put five boats between us and the Brits to take the silver." Fifth at the first mark, the McKees fought to second by the fourth mark, then passed Spain, which had gone from eighth to first in four legs.
About the team's huge lead at the end, Jonathan said, "On the last upwind leg, Charlie lined us up with the shifting breeze just perfectly. It has happed a couple of times that way in the series, but then other times we've done the exact same thing and it didn't work for us." | |
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