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Much has changed about Olympic sailing since Kevin Burnham took his first ride on the 15-foot 470 in 1975. The sailors, once amateur, are now professional athletes, paid to train and compete year-round. Women's divisions have been added. The twitchy, two-man 470 has undergone countless technological improvements, making it faster and more challenging to sail. However, passion, dedication, and talent are just as vital to success as they were three decades ago.
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Fortunately, Kevin doesn't lack in any of those three qualities. At 47, he was the oldest member of the U.S. Sailing Team at the 2004 Olympics, talented and dedicated enough to have made two previous Olympic teams and won a Silver in Barcelona in 1992. Yet, he was also the most enthusiastic. His energy and passion were a perfect complement for the quiet intensity of teammate Paul Foerster.
To the average sports fan, the Games are a brief fortnight of competition. But the path to the Olympic sailing regatta is long and grueling. Kevin knows this as well as anyone; it took him 17 years of sailing the 470 to qualify for his first Olympics in Barcelona in 1992.
So, in 2002, when Kevin and Paul decided to team up and pursue the Gold Medal that had eluded each of them in a combined five previous Olympics - Paul won Silver in 1992 and 2000 - they knew they were already behind.
In addition, family and work commitments prevented Paul and Kevin from sailing full-time like their competitors. To make up the difference they worked harder and smarter than anyone else in the world, packing as much training as they could into month-long trips to Europe, the heart of the International 470 regatta circuit
"We knew that everyone was training everyday and we were never sailing together," says Kevin of their campaign leading up to the Olympic Trials in November 2003. "We got to Germany [for Kiel Week, a major Olympic-class regatta, in June 2003] and we'd be on the water from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Everyone thought we were crazy. But we needed to do it."
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Courtesy of all that hard work, they dominated the Olympic Trials in Houston in November 2003, earning the sole Men's 470 berth on the U.S. Olympic Team. This win was particularly remarkable because Paul's wife Carrie had given birth to the couple's first child just days before the first race. Every evening, after racing, Paul would fly home to Dallas to be with his wife and child, returning to the Houston Yacht Club each morning where Kevin would be waiting, their boat rigged and ready to go.
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In the wake of the that victory there was little time for celebration. By January they were back in the 470, racing in Miami before heading to Western Europe for the spring and early summer and then on to Athens for an intense month-long pre-Olympic training session on the Saronic Gulf.
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The Men's 470 division, with 27 countries represented, was the most competitive of the 11 sailing events at the Athens Olympics. Kevin and Paul started strongly, winning the first race. From there it was a roller-coaster ride, full of triumphs and anxious moments. But in the races where things didn't go their way initially, Kevin and Paul were able to make the necessary comeback to avoid the sort of finish that can sink medal hopes. With one race remaining they were in the lead, and just one other team, the young British duo of Joe Rogers and Nick Glanfield, could catch them for the Gold Medal.
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| Kevin and Paul started the final race with a simple game plan, Beat the British. An early mistake by Rogers and Glanfield gave Kevin and Paul an opportunity, which they exploited to the fullest. For the rest of the race they stayed between their opposition and the finish. Though Kevin and Paul finished second-to-last, they had done what was needed to secure the Gold Medal.
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