His Shot at Medal Could Set Sail

When Kevin Hall won the U.S. Olympic sailing trials in Finn class Sunday, it capped a grueling, 12-year quest and guaranteed him a spot in Greece. It also could rekindle a dispute over his eligibility.

Like Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, Hall, 34, is a survivor of testicular cancer who requires weekly doses of testosterone. As a top-rated contender at the 1996 Olympic trials, his reliance on the banned substance stirred a controversy that remains unresolved.

Hall has special dispensation from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to take testosterone while competing in international regattas, but whether it extends to the Olympics remains an open question.

“I don’t know,” Hall said at home this week in suburban Bowie, Md., this week after winning the week-long regatta in Florida by a commanding margin.

“It’s a chain of events that needs to happen,” Hall said. “There’s paperwork that needs to go from the ISAF to the U.S. Olympic Committee to the International Olympic Committee.”

Eight years ago, the battle over his eligibility adversely affected his performance when he raced U.S. trials in singlehanded Laser, Hall said. He felt the U.S. Olympic hierarchy was not firmly behind him.

“They weren’t saying, ‘If we help him he might win a medal’ ... It was more, ‘If we ignore him maybe it will all go away.’ ” He placed fifth.

In 2000, Hall said, he ignored the issue and did better, winding up a close second in two-man 49er class with skipper Morgan Larson. On his fourth Olympic try last week, he won with a decisive 26-53 edge over second-place Geoff Ewenson of Annapolis, Md. Hall won nine of the 16 races in the 23-boat fleet.

Jonathan Harley, Olympic director for U.S. Sailing, said Hall’s status for the Games now rests with the U.S. and International Olympic committees.

“What he needs is to get dispensation from the IOC, which is in the process of happening,” said Harley. “I don’t know the status of it but I don’t think it will be a problem and it shouldn’t be. The USOC will do everything in its power to see that he can compete.”

Harley rates Hall as a “sleeper” for a U.S. medal. Finn class is extremely competitive, headed by Britain’s Ben Ainslie, 2000 Olympic gold-medalist in Laser class and three-time Finn world champion, followed by a half-dozen other top Europeans. Hall has been sailing Finns full time for just six months, “but he is a very, very good sailor and a very, very bright guy,” said Harley.

The 6-foot, 215-pound sailor is a three-time college all-American and raced in the last two America’s Cups. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1990, his senior year at Brown University. A series of operations led to removal of both testicles and abdominal lymph nodes by 1993.

Between operations he finished eighth in the 1992 Olympic trials in Finn class. At the 1996 trials he was still wrestling with balancing testosterone level with biweekly shots.

He initially planned to compete this year in two-man Star class but decided to switch to the singlehanded Finn in May. He trained full time in Florida from October on, focusing mostly on downwind speed. His regimen was unique. When winds were steady and strong enough from the north or south, he would sail his ultralight, 14-foot dinghy offshore in the rambunctious Gulf Stream, going 30 miles downwind between Miami and Fort Lauderdale without a support boat.

He will spend most of his remaining time in Europe at international regattas this summer, starting at Barcelona next month, and rates his medal chances in August as decent. “If I keep improving at the rate I have for the last six months, I do have a chance,” he said, adding that his top rivals “won’t be worried about me, which is nice.”

As for the controversy, Hall is ignoring it.

“I have the same testosterone levels as anybody else,” he said, “it’s just that I get it from a needle instead of naturally. I get my blood drawn every week and it shows I’m on the low side of normal.

“I realize I’m asking a lot. Testosterone is obviously a big issue. But the idea that anyone would have his testicles removed to gain a competitive advantage is ridiculous.”