Watch: The Men’s Laser Medal Race in Santander (replay).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2017
Portsmouth, R.I. – The US Sailing Team’s Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) took home bronze at the Sailing World Cup Final (June 4-11, 2017) in Santander, Spain. Narrowly missing out on the podium were Men’s 470 duo Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.), who finished 4th.
For Buckingham, the medal-winning performance in Spain was his second in as many top-level events, having taken home silver from the 2017 Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, The Netherlands. “I’m unsure about if it’s ‘momentum,’ but things seemed to come together well at both events,” said Buckingham, who finished just three points out of gold in Spain. “In such a small fleet, every point was really valuable. The top three were really close the whole time. This made the racing really intense and the podium spots were up for grabs all the way until the final downwind [leg] of the medal race.”
Pictured: Buckingham picks up his second medal of 2017.
Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.), the Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing, said there was much about how Buckingham was conducting his Tokyo 2020 Olympic campaign that other U.S. sailors could emulate. “Charlie has hit the Tokyo quad with renewed focus and commitment after his first Olympic Games experience in Rio,” said the two-time Olympic champion. “With his coach, Mark Littlejohn (Auckland, New Zealand), they have formulated a plan that builds towards the podium. These last two results are a confirmation they are on the right path. When you work harder than the others, and focus on the right principles, the rewards will come.”
Other Americans competing at the invitation-only World Cup Final in Santander included US Sailing Team 470 athletes and reigning I420 Youth World Champions Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas.) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.), who just missed the medal race, finishing in 12th overall. Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished 18th in the Men’s Laser, Haddon Hughes (Houston, Texas) finished 18th in the Women’s Laser Radial, and brothers Andrew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.) and Matthew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.) ended the event in 15th in the Men’s 49er class.
Link: Full Results
Pictured: USA Men’s 470 Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.) lead teammates Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas.) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.) in Santander.
About the US Sailing Team
The US Sailing Team is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. US Sailing Team sponsors include gold partner Helly Hansen, silver partners Harken, McLube, and Groupe Beneteau, and supplier Marlow Ropes. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org
Contact: Will Ricketson, Olympic Communications Manager, US Sailing
Email: willricketson@ussailing.org
Phone: +1 978 697 2384 (USA)
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