OLYMPIC SPORT PREVIEW: WORLD READY TO SET SAIL U.S. TEAM WON'T DOMINATE SAILING.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

American sailors don't harbor any misconceptions regarding their place in the world and their chances of regaining their country's past Olympic glory.

They might disagree on the exact reason, but the consensus seems to be that America's days of dominating the Olympic sailing competition are over. In Atlanta, the U.S. won just two bronze medals after winning medals in nine of 10 events in 1992.

The prospects appear to be only slightly better for this summer for two main reasons: organizing an Olympic campaign is becoming too costly, and the rest of the world simply is catching up.

``As far as the sailing team's showing in 1996, I believe calling it a poor showing is not necessarily accurate,'' said Charlie McKee, who teams with his brother, Jonathan, in the 49er class and won a bronze in the 470 class in the 1988 Olympics.

``Sailing has changed a great deal over the past decade, especially in terms of many more countries having strong programs with dedicated athletes. The net result is that no country is likely to dominate and ever win as many medals as the U.S. team did in the Olympics previous to 1996.''

The U.S. downward trend is undeniable, and the only question is whether it is also irreversible. High-quality sailors remain in the national program, but their numbers are decreasing.

One of those top sailors, 44-year-old Mark Reynolds of San Diego, teams with Magnus Liljedahl in the Star division and represents perhaps America's only chance at a gold medal in Sydney.

The pair won gold in the World Championships this year and are top- ranked in the world but have spent a good part of the past few years seeking monetary contributions to fund their Olympic effort.

``Over the last 10 years,'' Reynolds said, ``the professional sailing opportunities have grown, so many of the top U.S. sailors are no longer sailing Olympic boats, or if they do, they are not putting the time into them that they really need to.

``Our top U.S. sailors can now get paid to sail non-Olympic boats, where as they have to pay to sail Olympic boats.''

Reynolds and Mike Gebhardt, who compete in the Mistral category, will become the first Americans to sail in four Olympic Games, but there is also a measure of redemption surrounding Reynolds' return to the Olympic stage.

Four years ago, Reynolds and Hal Haenel tried to defend their Star gold in Atlanta, but finished eighth. Shortly thereafter, Reynolds connected with Liljedahl, a native of Sweden, and the two have been on a roll recently, highlighted by the gold in the World Championships.

``Our goal is certainly to win the gold medal, and we feel we have a good chance to do that,'' Reynolds said. ``It still comes down to sailing a good regatta. You have good ones and you have bad ones. You can't win them all. I had a bad one four years ago, and we've worked on our weak points and hope that if the opportunity presents itself we will be ready.

``I was very fortunate to get teamed with Magnus. Magnus is a great helmsman himself and competed at a world level in the Finn class, so he has a good understanding of the overall picture. He's a very strong guy, which is important, but also more importantly, he has a very strong desire to win.''

The present success of U.S. sailing depends largely on Reynolds and Liljedahl, but what about the future? Of the 18 sailors on the U.S. team, 12 are at least 35 years old, including Reynolds (44) and Liljedahl (46).

``We still have plenty of competitive sailing left,'' Reynolds said, ``although we might have to work a bit harder at it now. We are very interested in defending our World Championship next year. Bill Buchan was 49 when he won his gold medal (in 1992), so I'm already thinking about Athens.''

SAILING

Competition dates: Sept. 17-30

Events: 11 events in nine categories: Laser, Finn, Star, 49er, Tornado, Soling, Europe, Mistral Men, Mistral Women, 470 Men, 470 Women.

History: The sport was scheduled to debut in the inaugural Olympics in 1896, but poor weather forced the event's cancellation. It has been contested at every Games since 1900, and the United States has won more medals than any country.

How U.S. will fare: Slightly better than 1996 when the Americans won two bronze medals, but not as good as before when they dominated the sport. The U.S. will contend for gold in the Star (Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl) and 470 Men (Paul Foerster and Bob Merrick), but those could be the only two medals.

Did you know: The name of the sport has been changed, from yachting. The official reason? ``Yachting will be renamed sailing in the Sydney 2000 Games, partly to deflate its public image as a sport of the wealthy, with large expensive boats. In fact, seven of the nine classes of Olympic sailing actually involve small dinghies and sailboards.''

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Box: SAILING (See text)