Nick Scandone is an UC Irvine alum and now our latest gold medalist. Scandone participated in the 2008 Paralympics in China and help secure another Olympic medal for UC Irvine.

Press Release:

Former UC Irvine All-American Nick Scandone won a gold medal in the SKUD-18 class at the Paralympics Saturday.

Scandone and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker clinched the gold medal Friday with two races left in the series. With the gold medal secured, the duo decided to sail one race on the final day to show their support for the rest of the fleet.

For the first time Paralympians became the first U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team to win a gold medal, while Mc Kinnon-Tucker entered the history books as the first female gold medalist in the history of the Paralympic Sailing Regatta.

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker are true inspirations to the sport. The two must be specially situated in a specialized chair on the boat that has a hydraulics system that moves with the ocean and allows the sailors to be level at all times.

Scandone is still heavily involved in the UC Irvine sailing team and most of the team has sailed with the Olympian before.

As far as I am concerned, this dude is awesome. I have never even been on a sail boat.