Pictured: Erika Reineke (left) and Paige Railey (right), Laser Radial
August 9, 2014
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta (Olympic Test Event) concluded on Saturday with US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes finishing in the top 10 in 5 of 10 classes. “We came here with 25 athletes to learn as much as we can about the Rio sailing venue and Guanabara Bay,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. “It was a great week of sailing and racing. US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes performed well, and learned a lot about the sailing venue where we’ll be sailing in the Olympic Games in 2 years.”
Due to the significant distance between Brazil and the team’s usual training and racing areas in North America and Europe, the team has established a training venue in Rio de Janeiro. Thanks to a generous donation, the US training venue also features a full fleet of Olympic-class boats for American athletes to use for both training and racing. “One of the big successes of this trip was testing out that [training] venue and getting set up there, and now American sailors can come down and train here anytime they want.” In terms of the racing conditions delivered by the 2016 venue, Adams noted that the team is leaving Rio with an optimistic mindset. “Everyone involved in this event is impressed by the variety that Rio delivers, from the big-swell ocean courses to the inside courses on Guanabara Bay which are flat, tactical and feature a lot of current. I think it puts [the idea] in the minds of all US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes that they need to be well-rounded, that they have to go home and train in all conditions, and spend as much time in Rio as [they] can before The [Olympic] Games.”
For American sailors, it was a productive week on the water. Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) battled at the top of the Women’s 470 fleet, and didn’t fall below 2nd place overall until a difficult medal race placed them in 4th overall. Haeger and Provancha showed impressive speed in all conditions, recording three wins over eight races. In the Men’s 470 class, Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.) finished the event strongly with a 3,2,3 scoreline in the regular series and a 5th in the medal race, earning them 9th overall.
Laser Radial athlete Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), currently a college sailing standout for Boston College, reveled in the conditions in Rio, performing well on both the ocean and inner-harbor courses. Reineke, a Youth World Champion, finished 6th overall, including a win in Race 6. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), who finished in 8th overall, noted that she felt strong this week while racing in Rio. “I earned some unnecessary points, and made some basic errors, but besides that I feel like I sailed smart tactically,” said Railey. Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished 7th in the Laser fleet, capped by a 2nd place finish in Saturday’s medal race. Buckingham said the time spent in Rio was well worth it. “I’m happy with how I’m sailing, and things are on track. It’s a very specific venue, so I’m going to try and learn as much as I can about it. We’ll definitely be putting in a lot of time here.”
Brad Funk (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.), qualified for the medal race in the 49er class, and said that their approach to the Olympic Test Event was slightly different in some ways than a typical regatta. “We came into the regatta essentially treating it as practice races,” said Burd. “That outlook allowed us to learn something from every race and every leg, even when we got it wrong. We’re walking away from this week very comfortable, and more knowledgable about this spectacular venue.”
In the highly technical Finn class, Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) said that equipment selection was a big focus for him this week. “I learned what equipment isn’t really suited to this venue,” said Paine. “I’ll work with my coaches to do some fine tuning going forward. I plan on training here with the best equipment, and getting used to performing at the highest level on a daily basis. We need to replicate that Olympic-level standard every day.”
For the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider’s Olympic-class athletes, the focus now shifts to the ISAF World Championships in Santander, Spain (September 8-21). A performance peak event for American sailors, the ISAF Worlds brings together the world championship regattas of all ten Olympic classes into a single event. Half of the available qualification spots for the 2016 Olympic Games will be awarded at this event.
Results: Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta (Rio Test Event)
US Sailing Roster (Class, Athlete/Team, Hometown):
470 Men (Men’s Two-Person):
9th, Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
470 Women: (Women’s Two-Person)
4th, Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.)
13th, Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
49er (Men’s Two-Person High-Performance):
10th, Brad Funk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.)
17th, Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) and Zach Brown (San Francisco/San Diego, Calif.)
49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High-Performance):
12th, Kristen Lane (San Francisco, Calif.) and Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.)
15th, Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y./Newport R.I.)
Finn (Men’s Heavyweight One-Person):
12th, Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)
Laser (Men’s One-Person):
7th, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
26th, Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person):
6th, Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
8th, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull):
11th, Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) and John Casey (Miami, Fla.)
17th, Stephanie Hudson (Winnetka, Ill.) and Ian Andrewes (Kailua, Hawaii)
RS:X Men (Men’s Board):
26th, Carson Crain (Houston, Texas)
28th, Jonathan Rudich (Clearwater, Fla.)
Coaches supporting US Athletes this week in Rio:
– Dave Ullman
– Vince Brun
– Mark Littlejohn
– Morgan Reeser
– Charlie McKee
– Luther Carpenter
– Leandro Spina
Pictured: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, Women’s 470
Event website:
Photos:
US Sailing Team photos from the Olympic Test Event are available here: http://bit.ly/1ok2Po0
For photo download password, email: willricketson@ussailing.org
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About the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider 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 and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry Top-Sider; other sponsors include Harken and Team McLube. Yale Cordage is a team supplier. The US Sailing Center Miami is an Olympic training site. Oakcliff Sailing and Clearwater Community Sailing Center are US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider training centers. Chubb Personal Insurance sponsors US Sailing’s National Team Tour, a nationwide presentation program for US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes.
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 Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org
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Press contact: Will Ricketson, Olympic Communications Manager, US Sailing. willricketson@ussailing.org, +1 978 697 2384