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August 20, 2004 4:19 pm

U.S. team closer to sailing medal

By Kevin Tresolini

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - An Olympic medal in sailing became a much stronger possibility Friday for Tim Wadlow and Pete Spaulding, whose water-related ties date to their New Jersey boyhoods.

They still have a long way to go, a thought that didn't escape them after they'd washed and stowed their 49er class dinghy at the Olympic Sailing Centre, which straddles the picturesque Saronic Gulf.

Having just earned a victory, their first, in the ninth race of the 16-race series, Wadlow and Spaulding thrust themselves into medal contention. They were eighth overall before Friday, when they placed eighth, third and first in the three races. Now they have vaulted to third place overall."It was a nice run," said crewman Spaulding, 28, a 1994 graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. "It's been pretty amazing being here. We didn't know what to expect, this being our first time at the Olympics. We're just trying to make the most of it."

Better starts were at the root of Friday's improvement, said Wadlow, the 30-year-old skipper. In the first six races, the duo's best finish had been fifth. Light winds of between seven and 11 knots greeted the racers Friday.

Now the trick will be finding some consistency.

"We're just happy to be in the hunt," Wadlow said. "We had three good starts, and that made all the difference. Our main goal for the race was to able to have a clean lane from the start, which we didn't have before."

The two met as young boys in Fair Haven, N.J., where they swam on the Surf Riders swim team. Wadlow's family relocated to San Diego, where he still lives, when he was 10.

But the two were reunited when they attended college in the same city - Wadlow at Boston University and Spaulding at Boston College. Wadlow was named 1997 College Sailor of the Year as a BU senior and Spaulding was an All-American. Spaulding, who now lives in Miami, began his sailing career at Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club in Oceanport, N.J.

They teamed up full time in 2001, and quickly became the No. 1 U.S. 49er team. They placed eighth at the world championships in Spain in 2003 and fifth in the 2004 event here.

There are 19 teams in the Olympic competition. Most are just a streak of good races away from being in the top three.

"Every day's been very competitive," Wadlow said. "I think an average of about fifth place (in the 16 races) could win this thing. It shows the depth of the fleet. Some of the best guys in the world are out here finishing 17th or 18th. It's crazy. We were just fortunate we got some good starts and found some clean air."

The 49er class was added to Olympic sailing for the 2000 Games in Sydney, where Jonathan and Charlie McKee from the United States were bronze medalists.

Friday's races put the sailors just past the halfway mark of the competition, making the end closer but the outcome still far from clear.

"We still have seven races left," Spaulding said. "A lot can happen in one day or just one race."

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