Farrah Hall's Olympic dream might have caught its second wind.
The Annapolis windsurfer finished second at the RS:X team-selection trials in October after a jury's controversial decision to grant another competitor's appeal. After Hall won the regatta on the water, a jury ruled that Nancy Rios' race was affected by a tear in her sail and awarded the Miami windsurfer the trials' win. Only the first-place finisher is slated to represent the United States at the Summer Olympics.
The jury initially declined to hear Hall's request for redress because it was filed too late. But confronted with new photographic evidence, US Sailing has decided to reopen the case and hold a special hearing next month.
"From the beginning, we have been completely confident in the process and the decision that the original jury made," Dean Brenner, chairman of US Sailing's Olympic Sailing Committee, said yesterday. "The right thing to do when new evidence is presented is to take a look, consider it and decide whether it merits a reopening."
Hall was unavailable to comment but released a statement in which she revealed that she had photographs from the trials, taken by spectators and the event photographer.
"When we reviewed the photos, we could not see any distortion that would indicate that Nancy's performance was affected," Hall said in the statement. "We immediately brought these photos to the attention of US Sailing and Nancy's lawyer."
What exactly the photos depict is not clear, and Brenner said he has not seen them. The photographs were shared with the U.S. Olympic Committee last month. Hall's case will be heard in Providence, R.I., on April 8 and 9 by the same jury that ruled against her. Two additional jury members have been added, Brenner said, and the five members will hear testimony from Hall, Rios and witnesses.
"Considering the importance of these Olympic Selection regattas, my suspicion is that the jury decided this is a big deal, they should take a look at this," Brenner said. "Juries reopen hearings -- that should not be read as an indication that they're changing their minds. It should be read as [an] indication that they have an open mind and they're considering all possibilities."
Rios' attorney issued a statement yesterday calling Hall's claims "unfounded."
"The sailing jury has taken the unusual [but allowed] step to review its prior decision and the photographs, and Nancy looks forward to presenting her request again," Thomas Ingram said in the statement.
