Nick Scandone

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Nick Scandone (born March 4, 1966 in Santa Ana , California , † January 2, 2009 in Fountain Valley , California) was an American sailor.

Scandone, who has been a sailor since he was eight, sailed at the Balboa Yacht Club in Orange County , California when he was young . He later studied at the University of California at Irvine , where he continued his activities as a sailor. Although Scandone was already considered an Olympic hope, after failing to qualify for the summer games in Barcelona, ​​he decided against a career as an athlete and preferred to do a “real job”.

He then gave up sailing until he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2002 . In 2003 he finally gave up his job and from now on devoted himself entirely to sailing. From 2004 Scandone started sailing in competitions. The next year he won the world championship in his disability class. This victory earned him the honor of Rolex Yachtsman of the Year , the highest honor in US sailing.

At first he had enough strength to control the one-man keelboat 2.4mR , but when he later became weaker due to the progressive illness and lost control of his legs, he switched to the two-person SKUD-18 dinghy , which was equipped with a Manual operation.

In 2008 he took part in the Paralympic Games in Beijing , where he and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker won the gold medal in the SKUD-18 class. The US team chose Nick Scandone as a special honor as the flag bearer at the opening event in Beijing.

Nick Scandone died of complications from his illness on January 2, 2009 at his Fountain Valley home.

Scandone had been married since 1998.

Success as a regatta sailor with disabilities

  • 2005 2.4 Meter Open World Championships on Elba , Italy : Gold
  • 2005 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
  • 2006 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships in Perth , Australia : fourth place
  • 2007 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships in Rochester , New York : Gold
  • 2007 US Paralympic Team Trials in Newport , Rhode Island : Gold
  • 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing: Gold medal in the category 2-person keelboat (SKUD-18)
  • 2008 nomination for Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
  • 2008 US Sportsman of the Year

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Claire Noland: Nick Scandone dies at 42; Orange County gold medalist in sailing at Paralympic Games , Los Angeles Times , January 4, 2009 (accessed May 8, 2013)
  2. ↑ a b c mourning Nick Scandone , Yachtrevue , January 4, 2009 (accessed May 8, 2013)
personal data
SURNAME Scandone, Nick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sailor
DATE OF BIRTH March 4th 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Ana (California) , California
DATE OF DEATH January 2, 2009
Place of death Fountain Valley (California) , California