Jim Barton won a bronze medal in Soling Class at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, sailing alongside Jeff Madrigali and Kent Massey. Barton grew up in Southern California, in Encinitas, where he learned to sail, before moving to the Bay Area in 1981. Barton worked as a building contractor.
Barton / Madrigali / Massey came into Atlanta on a roll, having racked up multiple victories in the previous year. They won the Soling Pacific Coast Championship in October 1995, and then within the week won the Soling North America Championship. Shortly after that they took the Soling Match Racing Championship. Barton and Massey also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Soling World Championships.
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