ISAF Worlds, Final Report: USA Finishes Top-10 in 4 Classes at 2014's Peak Event

Pictured: Caleb Paine, Finn.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 21, 2014

Santander, Spain – The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider arrived at the ISAF Sailing World Championships looking to turn in peak performances, and enjoyed a successful week at the most significant regatta before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. With American sailors finishing in the top-10 in 4 classes, the results in Santander, Spain represent a positive step towards the team’s larger goals. “We are encouraged by the top US performances in Santander. US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes demonstrated that they are Olympic contenders in their respective classes and on track to perform well in Rio 2016,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. “Our team’s top performances in Santander showed significant progress over the results from class World Championship events in 2013. This event represents the midpoint of the Rio 2016 quad, and we are seeing positive results from the team’s effort so far and are looking forward to continuing our team’s training process to Rio.”

For the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, the US national team, the highlights of the event were 4 top-10 overall finishes in the largest and most talented fleets seen so far in this Olympic quadrennium. These included a 5th place finish in the Men’s 470 by Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.), 7th in the Women’s 470 by Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.), 7th in the Men’s Laser by Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) and 7th in the Men’s Finn by Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.). Also turning in a notable performance was Laser Radial athlete Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who narrowly missed a berth in the medal race and finished 14th.

Pictured: Stuart McNay and David Hughes, Men’s 470.

Sunday, September 21 saw the final races held at the event, including the medal race for the Finn class. Top-ranked American Finn athlete Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) capped his best-ever performance at a Finn World Championship (also known as the Finn Gold Cup) by finishing 5th in a very light and difficult medal race. This boosted Paine to 7th overall in the 78-boat fleet. A winner of the ISAF Sailing World Cup series (2012), Paine has made great strides in the past two years, and is beginning to see the results of his concerted effort.”It’s been a hard-fought regatta, and a close one,” said Paine, who was the runner-up to Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) in the 2012 US Olympic Trials. “There were some significant moments and races that cost me some points, and in the future I can correct those mistakes with better execution. Overall, I’m very happy with my result here.” Paine’s performance was the best by an American Finn sailor at the Worlds since 2010.

WATCH: Finn Class Medal Race, with commentary by Gary Jobson: http://bit.ly/1DqK3GF

ESPN3 Link: http://es.pn/1wAjiLu

Also up for grabs at the Santander 2014 World Championships were the first berths awarded to countries (but not individual athletes) for the Rio 2016 Olympic sailing competition. 50% of the available berths for Rio 2016 in each of the ten Olympic sailing classes were awarded in Santander, and the United States has now qualified for The Games in the Laser, Laser Radial, Men’s 470, Women’s 470, and Finn. American sailors in the remaining classes will have other opportunities to qualify for Rio 2016 at World and Continental Championship events in 2015 and 2016.

Report Archive: ISAF Sailing World Championships, Santander 2014

ISAF Sailing World Championships 2014: USA Preview

Full Results: http://bit.ly/1s3FKhN

Notable US Results, Overall: Final

470 Men (73 boats): Final

5th, Stuart McNay and David Hughes, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

470 Women (54 boats): Final

7th, Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Laser Men (147 boats): Final

7th, Charlie Buckingham, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
15th, Chris Barnard, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Finn (78 boats): Final

7th, Caleb Paine, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Laser Radial Women (120 boats): Final

14th, Erika Reineke, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

49er Men (40 boats raced on Day 4, 80 total boats):

24th, Brad Funk and Trevor Burd, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

49erFX Women: Final

29th, Paris Henken and Helena Scutt, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Nacra 17 (67 boats): Final

35th, Sarah Newberry and John Casey, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

RS:X Women: Final

40th, Farrah Hall, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

RS:X Men: Final

73rd, Carson Crain, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Santander 2014 Media Guide:

Event Website: http://www.santander2014.com

US Sailing Team Live Updates: www.Twitter.com/USSailingTeam

US Sailing Team Daily Reports: www.ussailing.org/olympics

Social Media (Facebook): www.Facebook.com.USSailingTeam

Social Media (Instagram): www.Instagram.com.USSailingTeam

Photos (Daily): www.usst.photoshelter.com

The Medalist Newsletter: September Issue

The Medalist is out! We are in championship season, and the biggest Olympic sailing event of the year is taking place at the ISAF World Championships in Santander, Spain. The Medalist, September Issue: http://bit.ly/1qHG82Q Subscribe: http://eepurl.com/EZH6D

Featured In This Issue:
– SANTANDER WORLDS: The Biggest Event Before Rio 2016
– VIEW FROM RIO, by Charlie McKee
– SNAPSHOTS: Images from Training and Racing
– QUOTABLES: Social Media Roundup
– DISABLED SAILING WORLDS, by Betsy Alison
– RISING TIDE, Episode 3: “A Technical Direction.”
– THE GOLDEN SPINNAKER REGATTA & GALA: Support your team! Event details inside.
– FAN & MEDIA GUIDE

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, +1 978 697 238