Nick Scandone

Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.), 42, passed away Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, after a long battle with ALS, also commonly called Lou Gehrig's Disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Scandone, 42, won a coveted gold medal with teammate Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) in the SKUD-18 class at the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta in Qingdao, China, this past summer.

Scandone beat the odds of his disease by not only being strong enough to compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games, but by winning the gold medal a day early, with two races left to go. "It's been such a long road to get [to the 2008 Games]," said Scandone after he won. "It's emotionally overwhelming for me to finally realize my goal."

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker were unstoppable in this new Paralympic class, which made its debut at the 2008 Games. At the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in fall 2007, their string of strong finishes allowed them to mathematically sew up a regatta win before the final race. Their victory at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR in January '08 was a repeat performance. 

Their path cut straight to a Paralympic gold medal, but the geometry of Nick Scandone's course to this point in his sailing career is anything but straight — and life has thrown him detours. 

A sailor since age 8, Scandone sailed Sabots as a youth in his native Orange Country, California. In college at the University of California, Irvine, "I spent a good four years, honing my skills," said Scandone. The year 1988 was a highpoint: the school's sailing team won on a national level and Scandone was named an intercollegiate All-American. After graduation and a win at the 1991 470 North Americans, the Olympics were on his horizon.

But when he wasn't victorious at the winner-take-all Trials for the '92 Games, he came to a realization: "It was time for a real job." Scandone joined the ranks of serious weekend warriors, racing 505s, Lido 14s, Schock 35s, and other classes. 

In 2002, he was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. "After I was diagnosed, I continued to work … because you think the diagnosis may be wrong." But when his condition progressed, he knew his life and his sailing would change. But it took time for him to reach the starting line of a disabled sailing regatta.

By 2004, Scandone was competing in the singlehanded 2.4mR class. In 2005, he won the 2.4mR World Championship in an 88-boat fleet of disabled and able-bodied sailors and was crowned US SAILING Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. As his condition progressed, he shifted to the doublehanded SKUD-18 with crew Maureen McKinnon-Tucker.

For Scandone, his sailing success and recognition was indeed bittersweet. He would have traded it to erase his physical limitations, but he could not reverse the tide of his life and he made a choice: to focus on what he could do as opposed to what he couldn't, and to enjoy his life. Sailing provided that joy and focus. It was also a reminder that his success came from a certain mental balance: "I have an even keel, in the sense that I don't get real high and I don’t get real low," said Scandone. "I shrug off the bad races and don't get too over-confident about the good ones."



SIGNIFICANT SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS:
US SAILING’s Sportsman of the Year (2008)
Shortlist*, US SAILING Rolex Yachtsman of the Year (2008) [*Winners to be announced in 2009]
US Paralympic Sailing Team in the SKUD-18 class (2008)
Ranked #1 on the US Disabled Sailing Team AlphaGraphics in the 2.4mR class (2005-2008)
US SAILING Rolex Yachtsman of the Year (2005)
U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Athlete of the Year/Sailing (2005)
ICSA All-American (1988)
 
SAILING RESUME:

2008
1st, SKUD-18 fleet, 2008 Paralympic Regatta in Qingdao, China
1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR/Miami, Florida

2007
1st U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Sailing/Newport, Rhode Island
2nd IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship/Rochester, New York
3rd C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta/Newport, Rhode Island

2006
4th IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship/Perth, Australia (2.4mR)

2005
1st 2.4 Meter Open World Championships/Elba, Italy
1st U.S. Independence & North American Challenge Cups/Chicago, Illinois (2.4mR)
3rd US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR (2.4mR/top U.S. finisher)

2004
1st U.S. Independence & North American Challenge Cups/Chicago, Illinois (2.4mR)