ISAF : John KOSTECKI (USA)

John KOSTECKI (USA)

The winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, John and the illbruck team did not finish below 4th in any of the 9 legs of the 32,700 nautical mile circumnavigation.

With bullets in 4 of the 9 legs, John’s consistency, experience and strong leadership combined with excellent team preparation ensured illbruck dominated the Volvo Ocean Race from day one.

To top it off the team smashed the EDS 24 hour Monohull World Speed Record during Leg 7 from Annapolis to La Rochelle.

The Achievements of John Kostecki

1st - Volvo Ocean Race 2001/2002
1st - Leg 1 (by 2 hours 1 minute and 7 seconds) Southampton (GBR) to Cape Town (RSA)
1st - Leg 2 (by 1 hour 13 minutes and 19 seconds) Cape Town (RSA) to Sydney (AUS)
4th - Leg 3 Sydney (AUS) via Hobart to Auckland (NZL)
1st - Leg 4 (by 5 hours and 52 minutes) Auckland (NZL) to Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
2nd - Leg 5 Rio de Janeiro (BRA) to Miami (USA)
4th - Leg 6 Miami (USA) to Baltimore (USA)
1st - Leg 7 (by 2 hours 55 minutes and 10 seconds) Baltimore (USA) to La Rochelle (FRA)
4th - Leg 8 La Rochelle (FRA) to Göteborg (SWE)
2nd - Leg 9 Göteborg (SWE) to Kiel (GER)

April 2002 – EDS 24 hour Monohull World Speed Record, a distance of 484 nautical miles at an average speed of 20.16 knots, breaking the previous record by 6 nautical miles

Name	John Kostecki
Date of Birth	23535
Place of Birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Profession	Yacht Racing
Sailor's Website	www.illbruck-challenge.com/en/race.shtml
Age started sailing	3
First boat sailed	Lido 14
Age started racing	7
First boat raced	El Toro (Pram)
What inspired you to take up sailing?	My parents
How did you buy your first boat?	My parents helped me
Which was your first sailing club?	Richmond Yacht Club, California, USA
First Event competed in and Year	Richmond YC Junior Racing 1972
First Event won and Year	Sunfish World Championships 1982
Principle achievements	2001-2 Volvo Ocean Race winner
Principle achievements	24 hour monohull record
Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date	1988 Olympics in the Soling Class (silver medal)
Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date	1986 and 1988 Soling World Champion
Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date	1996, 1997 and 1998 Mumm 36 World Champion
Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date	1999 Farr 40 World Champion
Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date	1995 and 2000 America’s Cup tactician
What are your future sailing aspirations?	Winning the America’s Cup and another Olympic medal.
Briefly state what sailing means to you	Sailing is my life. I have been sailing ever since I can remember as a child. I love the sport, the people involved and how it has evolved over the years.
Who has had the greatest impact or inspiration in your sailing career and why?	My parents. They supported my sailing while I was young and were always there for me.
Who do you consider to be your sailing hero?	I have many sailing heroes!
What other sports do you participate in outside of sailing?	Mountain biking
What other sports do you participate in outside of sailing?	Snowboarding
Who do you consider to be the greatest sailor in the World and why?	Sailors that are successful in many different sailing events like the America’s Cup, Olympic Classes and long distance racing. Dennis Connor and Russell Coutts are a couple of great sailors today.
Briefly state what being nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award 2002 means to you	It is a great honour to be nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year.
If voted as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2002, briefly say what will this mean to you?	We (illbruck Challenge) worked and trained very hard to win the Volvo Ocean Race. Winning this award would be the tip of the iceberg!