Disabled Marblehead sailor ready for China Olympics

MARBLEHEAD-Disabled sailor Maureen McKinnon-Tucker of Marblehead is racing off the California coast this week as part of her final preparations before heading to China to compete in the Olympics.McKinnon-Tucker and her sailing partner, Nick Scandone of California, will race in the SKUD-18 event. She is paraplegic from a fall more than 10 years ago. Scandone is quadriplegic and suffers from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His condition continues to deteriorate as the Paralympics start approaches.McKinnon-Tucker’s husband, Dan Tucker, said the two sailors are in good spirits despite the progression of Scandone’s medical condition. He noted Scandone is most energized while sailing and that the team has added voice amplification to the boat, which allows Scandone to conserve his energy for the task at hand n namely, winning a Gold Medal.In an email Friday, Tucker said that his wife is in California for her final training session with Scandone. “She’s been going to California every three or four weeks for five days at a time,” he said.Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker are the only sailors who will be representing the U.S. in the SKUD-18 competition at the Paralympics, which begin in Qingdao with opening ceremonies on Sept. 6. Qingdao is on the coast about 450 miles from Beijing.”Maureen and Nick will depart for the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs on Aug. 27, where their documents will be finalized,” said Tucker. “They’ll be outfitted with their full U.S. Paralympic Team attire. Then they’re directly off to Beijing and on to Qingdao.”McKinnon-Tucker, a mother of two, was dealt another blow last Jan. 21 when their son, Trent, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She found out about it while competing in Florida and immediately flew home to be at the boy’s side. Emergency surgery and chemotherapy followed, and the boy’s latest MRI scan in July shows virtually no residual tumor.”He’s doing very well and will complete his final treatment about a week before Maureen starts sailing,” Tucker said.To view a video of a day in the life of Tucker, visit tw.youtube.com/bulletin_all?user=RockHeadMA