Nicholas Salvatore Scandone (March 4, 1966 – January 2, 2009) was an American

yachtsman A yacht () is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a ...

who narrowly missed participating on the U.S. team at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

and won a gold medal as a

paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

at the 2008 Summer Games.

Biography

Scandone was born on March 4, 1966, in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, and learned to sail in an eight-foot

Sabot Sabot may refer to: * Sabot (firearms), disposable supportive device used in gunpowder ammunitions to fit/patch around a sub-caliber projectile * Sabot (shoe), a type of wooden shoe People * Dick Sabot (1944–2005), American economist and bus ...

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

at the Balboa Yacht Club in California. He started sailing when he was eight-years old, after being given the choice by his mother to learn to sail or attend summer school. He attended the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, where he was an All-American and won a national championship in 1988 and graduated in 1990.Museler, Chris
"Nick Scandone, Winner of Paralympics Sailing Gold, Is Dead at 42"
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 4, 2009. Accessed January 5, 2009. In 1991, he won the National American title in the double-handed

470 __NOTOC__ Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

class. Described by ''

'' as "a rising star in the sailing world in the 1980s and '90s", Scandone entered the 1992 Olympic trials as the favorite in 470 class but just missed earning a berth on the United States Olympic squad. Following the disappointment in 1992, Scandone began working in the advertising profession and later became a restaurant equipment salesman.

Paralympic sailing

In July 2002, a doctor diagnosed what had started as chronic back pain as being caused by

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He quit his job and began training for the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

in the single-handed 2.4 Meter

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, a craft that has been considered ideal for handicap integrated sailing since the sailor does not move in the boat, and everything is adjustable from right in front of the sailor, with both hand-steering and foot-steering possible. By 2005, Scandone was participating as a Classification 7, under a system in which a Paralympic sailor's mobility is rated from 1 to 7, with the lowest number representing the most severe level of disability. He won the 2005 Open World Championships in the 2.4 Meter class in a regatta off the coast of

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, defeating 87 other boats skippered by 60 able-bodied and 27 other disabled sailors, and was named as

US Sailing The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offe ...

's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, making him the only Paralympic sailor ever to achieve the honor.Nick Scandone
, US Paralympics. Accessed January 5, 2008. However, by the end of 2006, his condition had advanced to the point where he was physically unable to participate in the 2.4-Meter class, which specifies single-handed operation, and was approaching Classification 1 status. Scandone switched to the

SKUD 18 The SKUD 18 is a class of racing sailing boat. It is a lead-assisted skiff with a tube-launched asymmetrical and a modern high performance stayed rig. The boat was created for trials held by the International Association for Disabled Sailing w ...

class, a newly added Paralympic event for Classification 1 sailors that was the first Paralympic class to specify a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...

member participating in the two-person crew. Together with crewmate

Maureen McKinnon-Tucker Maureen McKinnon (formerly Maureen McKinnon-Tucker; born February 25, 1965) is an American paralympian yachtswoman. In 2008 in Beijing she became the first woman to represent the United States in sailing at a Paralympic Games and also the first ...

, a paraplegic from

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

, he won the gold medal at the U.S. Paralympic trials in 2007 held off of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. Heading towards the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 2008, Scandone's physical condition deteriorated further. His coaches had to modify the steering and seat systems, and had to change the electronic controls from toggles to buttons to accommodate the weakening of his fingers. He was chosen by his fellow members of the 2008 United States Paralympics Team with the honor of being the flag bearer for the U.S. team at the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker won most of their early races, but Scandone required feeding and hydration between races, sometimes intravenously. As the team had won most of their races, they did not have to compete on the final day of competition and won the gold medal in what was described as "dominating fashion". Scandone was nominated for the 2008 Yachtsman of the Year award for his gold-medal performance. Before his death, he helped promote the Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation at Balboa Yacht Club, a program that he created to encourage disabled sailors to participate in the sport. Scandone died January 2, 2009, at his home in

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Indigenous The Indigenous people of the Fountain Valley area are the Tongva. The closest ...

, aged 42.Noland, Claire
"Nick Scandone dies at 42; Orange County gold medalist in sailing at Paralympic Games"
, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', January 4, 2009. Accessed January 5, 2009.

References

External links

Paralympic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scandone, Nick 1966 births 2009 deaths American people of Italian descent Deaths from motor neuron disease in California Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic sailors for the United States American male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California UC Irvine Anteaters sailors University of California, Irvine alumni US Sailor of the Year Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in sailing 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen

Biography

Paralympic sailing

See also

References

External links