John Lovell

Sailing Since Age: 11

Personal

Veteran campaigner Johnny Lovell returns for his fourth consecutive Olympic Regatta in 2008 with one silver medal from 2004 already in his pocket. But Lovell knows that every campaign is different - the venues, the breeze, and the competitors he and longtime crew Charlie Ogletree face are never constant.

This duo came into the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Sailing as a clear favorite in the Tornado class. But the Trials escalated into a tough battle with the team of Robbie Daniel and Hunter Stunzi, and the last four races were a tall order for Lovell and Ogletree - they had to win all four races to capture a berth on the U.S. team.

That is exactly what they did, proving that this pair of Olympic veterans has the finesse and focus to perform well when the pressure is on.

Lovell and Ogletree - who were born on the same October day, only an hour apart - celebrated their 40th birthdays during the U.S. Trials. They started sailing Tornados together in 1993 and competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Savannah (finishing eighth), the 2000 Games in Sydney (seventh), and the 2004 Games in Athens (silver medal). Do the campaigns get easier with time? "It gets easier from a mental perspective," says Lovell, "and much harder physically."

Lovell and his siblings were introduced to the sport by their father, and Lovell credits his father as being the most influential person in his athletic career. From his native New Orleans, he went off to the College of Charleston, where he majored in business and finance and became a four-time All-American in sailing.

Lovell now juggles sailing with family life and a career as a Certified Public Accountant. He is married to Katherine Pilley Lovell, also an accomplished sailor, and they are raising a young son.

Lovell will be the first to admit that balancing his roles as husband, father, professional, and world-class sailor is a tough juggling act. "It is extremely difficult, and I have had to make some tough choices."

But to those who have watched him mature into one of the United States' top sailors, he makes the journey to Olympic glory look smooth. And after four successive campaigns for medals, Lovell will head to the starting line of the 2008 Olympic Regatta in Qingdao with a decided edge: experience.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Four-time ICSA All-American (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990)
• 2004 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team Captain
• Silver medal, 2004 Olympic Games (Tornado)

SAILING RESUME:

2007

• 1st U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Sailing/San Diego, Calif.
• 10th US SAILING's Miami Rolex OCR/Miami, Fla.
• 10th ISAF Sailing World Championship/Cascais, Portugal

2006

• 1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
• 1st US Tornado National Championship/San Diego, Calif.
• 1st US SAILING Pre-Trials/San Diego, Calif.
• 2nd Tornado North American Championship/Miami, Fla.
• 4th The Good Luck Beijing - 2006 Qingdao International Regatta/Qingdao, China
• 8th Tornado European Championship/Lubeck, Germany

2005

• 1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
• 6th Tornado European Championship/Vastervik, Sweden
• 8th Tornado World Championship/La Rochelle, France

2004

• 1st HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• 1st Tornado North American Championship/Miami, Fla.
• 1st HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• 2nd Olympic Regatta/Athens, Greece
• 2nd Semaine Olympique Française de Voile/Hyères, France
• 2nd Tornado World Championship/Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Olympic Experience

• 4-time Olympian; 1-time Olympic medalist (1 silver)
• Olympic Games Beijing 2008, 15th (Tornado - Open)
• Olympic Games Athens 2004, silver (Tornado - Open)
• Olympic Games Sydney 2000, 7th (Tornado - Open)
• Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, 8th (Tornado - Open)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2008 – 8th (Tornado - Open)
• Years of participation: Tornado - Open 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Medals: 1 (1 silver)
• Silver – 2004 (Tornado - Open)