American Sailors Ready to Challenge For Medals On Sunday In Miami

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Above: Watch the full replay of Saturday’s Medal Race action in Miami.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28, 2017

Miami, Fla. – Five of the ten scheduled medal races took place on Saturday at World Cup Series Miami 2017, Presented by Sunbrella (January 22-29, 2017), with US Sailing Team boats competing in the Men’s 49er and Nacra 17 classes as online audiences watched from around the world. On Sunday, multiple American boats will have a shot at the podium as the regatta comes to a close.

WATCH: LIVE TV Broadcast Begins at 12:00 EST (Medal Races – 470, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial)

Medal Race Schedule (Sunday, January 29, EST)

  1. 12:05 PM – Men’s Laser (Charlie Buckingham, USA)
  2. 12:50 PM – Women’s Laser Radial (Erika Reineke, USA)
  3. 1:35 PM – Men’s Finn (Luke Muller, USA)
  4. 2:20 PM – Men’s 470 (Stu McNay and Dave Hughes, USA, Wiley Rogers and Jack Parkin, USA)
  5. 3:05 PM – Women’s 470 (Atlantic Brugman and Nora Brugman, USA)

In the Nacra 17, Olympian Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.) and helmsman Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) took 5th in the medal race in the mixed multihull class, and finished the event in 6th overall. “I think today was only our 12th day as a team, but we bring together a lot of other experience from different boats,” said Chafee. “It just came together really nicely, and we molded together really well.” Gibbs is a relative newcomer to the Nacra 17, but showed little trepidation throughout the week as the U.S. pair consistently battled near the front of the pack. “Sailing with an Olympian like Louisa really taught me a lot about preparation, and how to handle a high level regatta like this,” said Gibbs, who was a Youth Worlds silver medalist in 2014.

David Liebenberg (Livermore, Calif.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.) finished the Men’s 49er medal race in 9th, and their 10th place overall position remained unchanged from Friday. “This week has been a bit different from the last major regatta I did, which was the Rio 2016 Olympic selection event,” said Liebenberg. “We just started sailing together, so when you’re with a new partner, you have to take a step back and focus on what’s most important on the racecourse.” MacDiarmid succeeded in qualifying for his first career medal race in what was only his first Sailing World Cup event. “The 49er is the most fun Olympic class, because of the combination of the speed you get, together with the strength and balance that you need in order to sail these boats,” said MacDiarmid. “This boat pushes you every time you go on the water.”

Pictured: David Liebenburg (Livermore, Calif.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.), Men’s 49er. Photo: Jen Edney/US Sailing

U.S. Olympians Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) entered day five in the overall lead in the Men’s 470, and managed to stay on top with scores of 1, 14, 8 on Saturday. “It wasn’t our best day out there, and we know we have to do better tomorrow,” said McNay. “We were happy to climb back into contention in the third race after a slow start, and get a decent score.” McNay and Hughes now have an eight point lead over Rio 2016 bronze medalists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis of Greece in the Men’s 470, and 12 points over Tetsuya Isozaki and Akira Takayanagi of Japan. The Americans will go for gold on Sunday, but the points gap to 4th place means they are assured of a medal heading into the final race.

2016 I420 Youth Sailing World Champions Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.) have made an impressive second career appearance at World Cup Series Miami, and finished full-fleet racing on Saturday with a solid 3, 5, 9 scoreline. This moved the young guns up to 7th overall, with a firm chance to move higher during the medal race. Rogers and Parkin are also in medal contention, with a 16 point gap to 3rd.

Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) once again flashed elite speed and tactical skills on Saturday, notching finishes of 9 and 3 to remain in the medal hunt. Muller is now in 5th overall, 14 points from the podium, and will need to finish at or near the top of the fleet to have a chance for a medal on Sunday.

Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) dropped from 4th overall to 7th overall in the Laser Radial fleet after scores of 34 and 22 on day five. Reineke, who has been the top U.S. finisher at the Radial worlds in 3 of the past 5 years, has battled in the top 10 of the 51 boat fleet for the majority of the week. Unfortunately, the Florida native will not be able to climb into podium position on Sunday due to the current points spread.

In the Men’s Laser, U.S. Olympian Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) recorded finishes of 28 and 17 on Saturday, and will head into the medal race in 7th overall. Like Reineke, Buckingham will not have a chance for a medal at this event, though for both sailors, their medal race appearances are a firm reminder of their high international standing in the notably deep Laser and Radial fleets.

Women’s 470 newcomers Atlantic Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Nora Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) had their best day of the event on Saturday, finishing with scores of 5 and 6, propelling the sisters up to 9th overall. Sunday will see them make their medal race debut at their first career Sailing World Cup event as a 470 pair.

Pictured: Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.), Men’s 470. Photo: Sailing Energy.

What’s Ahead

Six days of racing for the ten Olympic classes are scheduled to take place from January 24-29, with medal races scheduled for Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29. Additionally, Sailing World Cup Miami 2017 will feature the debut of the Regatta Park Fan Zone, a new effort to bring as much sailing action as possible to fans watching from shore. Spectators will get to watch live TV coverage on a large video display, with an experienced commentary team led by U.S. Olympian and 2005 Sailing World Cup Miami champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis). The medal race video feed will also be available online on Saturday and Sunday on World Sailing’s Facebook and YouTube Channels.

Watch the Racing:

TV:

For sailing fans in Miami looking to take in all the action this coming weekend, Regatta Park is located at 3400 Pan American Drive in Miami, Florida.

Tracking:

Live tracking and competitor’s analytics is available via SAP Sailing Analytics throughout the event here.

Follow the US Sailing Team: Team Media Guide

Notable US Standings: Day 5 of 6

See Also: Full Standings & Race Replays

See Also:

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. 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, Communications Manager, US Sailing
Email: willricketson@ussailing.org
Phone: +1 978 697 2384 (USA)