- See Less -Graham Biehl's parents took him sailing before he could walk - and this San Diego sailor stayed true to his roots with an early start in the sport in Snipe and Sabot dinghies. Growing up at the San Diego Yacht Club, where the membership roster is well populated with Olympic medalists, America's Cup sailors, one-design champions, and other world-class talents, it seemed only natural that Biehl himself would someday follow the same path.
Of his decision to campaign for an Olympic berth, Biehl says, "I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time around past Olympic sailors, and their stories and experience have inspired me to do this."
At age 17, Biehl was on the starting line of the Mens 470 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the 2004 Olympic Games. Crewing for Mikee Anderson-Mitterling, Biehl and his skipper faced a formidable pair in the team of Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham. Both Foerster and Burnham were veterans of Olympic sailing, and they each had a silver medal in this doublehanded class (although their medal was not earned together).
Foerster/Burnham won the Trials for the 2004 Games handily, winning 11 individual races, and they sailed on to Athens to capture a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Regatta. Biehl and his skipper finished the Trials in second place.
In the ensuing quadrennium, Biehl started crewing for current skipper Stu McNay. As a pair, they arrived at the Trials for the 2008 Games looking strong - and they fulfilled that promise by winning the Trials in a combined Men's-Women's 470 fleet.
Among the fleets racing the Trials on the U.S. West Coast, they were the first to claim an early victory and did not have to sail the last two races to trump their closest competitor, Anderson-Mitterling and crew David Hughes, who finished one point behind them in the final standings.
A strong competitor on the water, Biehl is also drawn to the other ways that sailing feeds his psyche. "I like the freedom and the fun of it...and the peace of being on the ocean."
A member of the Sunset Cliffs Surfing Association, he helps clean local beaches and raises money to support a clean ocean. "Ever since I was young, I've been in and around the water," says Biehl. "Environmental awareness is important for everyone - and doing your part whenever you can is a rewarding experience."
Biehl and McNay have big shoes to fill, being the next Americans to represent the country after the strong showing of U.S. sailors Foerster and Burnham. But as they head into their final leg of training before heading to Qingdao, Biehl knows they will be ready - and they will arrive in China with one big shot of confidence in their back pockets: their U.S. Trials win.
"For sure, making the U.S. Olympic Team is the most rewarding experience and feeling I have ever had," says Biehl. "I can't even think how the Olympics might feel ..."
From sailing.teamusa.org
1st Place Han And Graham
