Ledbetter Earns Another Chance to Improve in Olympic Sailing

San Diego’s Brian Ledbetter says, “I’m a better sailor now,” than the one that went to the 1988 Olympics, and he knows he will have to be to win a medal at Barcelona this summer.

Ledbetter, who dominated the 10-race U.S. Olympic sailing trials at Newport Beach, which ended Wednesday, placed only 10th in the windy sailing at Pusan four years ago.

“In my last two major regattas I’ve finished first and second,” he said. “The Finn is a tough boat. You learn something every time you go out.”

Two other ’88 Olympic crews tried to repeat, but bronze medalists John Shadden of Long Beach and Charlie McKee of Seattle were third in 470s to winners Morgan Reeser and Kevin Burnham of Florida; and Pete Melvin of Westminster and new crew Chris Steinfeld of Oyster Bay, N.Y., were second in Tornado catamarans at Marina del Rey to ’84 silver medalist Randy Smyth and crew Keith Notary of Florida.

Other winners were Julia Trotman of Syosset, N.Y., in the new singlehanded women’s Europe class, and world champions J.J. Isler of San Diego and Pam Healy of San Francisco in women’s 470s.