Pictured: Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.) and Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.), Toronto 2015 Lightning silver medalists.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Toronto, Canada – The sailing events of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games came to a close on Sunday, with the final medal races and awards ceremonies of the event taking place for the Lightning, Hobie 16, Sunfish, Snipe and J/24. The United States and Brazil tied for the most sailing medals won at the event, with both nations taking home six apiece.
SEE ALSO: USA Wins A Gold And Two Bronze Medals In The Laser Radial, RS:X and 49erFX at Toronto 2015
“Team USA showed up in Toronto ready to sail, and we are pleased to see strong podium results for American sailors,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing, who served as Team Leader in Toronto. “This group of athletes, coaches and staff worked very well together as a team, which was a positive factor in USA’s performance on the water.”
Pictured: Team USA Lightning passes by thousands of spectators on shore after securing silver.
Capping a week of fighting hard to keep themselves in podium position, the Lightning team of Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) and Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.) secured a silver medal on Sunday. Coplan was an early beneficiary of the International Lightning Class’s groundbreaking “boat grant” program, which provides competitive boats and additional assets to promising young sailors. “I got that first boat back in 2008, and so far I’m pretty happy with where the Lightning has taken me,” said Coplan. He also noted that many of the highlights of the week happened off the water. “Being able to work together as part of Team USA with the other sailors and coaches was just something else. The whole experience has been really positive.”
Patten said she was happy with how the medal race went, because while they started the day in silver position, they could have fallen as far as 4th overall if things did not go according to plan. “It ended up being a pretty simple medal race,” said Patten, who works as a professional sailing coach in Annapolis, Maryland. “We had good speed at the start, and [closest competitors] Chile and and Brazil were battling each other. Gold was already locked up by Argentina, so we just played good defense.”
Pictured: Mark Modderman (Long Branch, N.J.) and Grace Modderman (Rumson, N.J.), Hobie 16 silver medalists.
In the Hobie 16, the father-daughter team of Mark Modderman (Long Branch, N.J.) and Grace Modderman (Rumson, N.J.) were also successful in defending their silver-medal position during the final race. Mark Modderman, the skipper, said that while they were hopeful before the event that they would perform well, he was very pleased with their result. “We came is as underdogs, and Grace said that we really just had to visualize racing well before we could try to go out and do it,” said Modderman. “We sailed a smart regatta and gelled nicely as a team, but another factor was all of the support that we received. US Sailing gave us top-level coaching, physical therapy, logistical help and more. It was special to be a part of this team.” Grace Modderman said the event had already become a special memory. “I really enjoyed spending time with my Dad and racing with him. Any time we get a chance to sail together, it’s awesome.”
Pictured: Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.), Team USA Snipe (far right).
Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.) won their second straight medal in the Snipe class at the Pan American Games, and took home bronze. For Diaz, it was his third career Pan Am Games Medal. “We were hoping for the gold, but getting on the podium is special, so I’m very happy with our result,” said the US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. “The Snipe trials for the Pan Am Games is always very hard to win in the US, so I was very happy to be able to come back. It’s just a notch below the Olympics, and it takes a lot to get here and do well.”
Since sailing was included in the Pan American Games in 1955, the United States has won 84 medals in sailing: 34 gold, 29 silver and 21 bronze.
Final Standings: Full Results
Laser Radial Women: FINAL (GOLD)
- 1st, Paige Railey, USA, 50 points
- 2nd, Fernanda Coelho, Brazil, 64 points
- 3rd, Dolores Moreira, Uruguay, 64 points
Hobie 16: FINAL (SILVER)
- 1st, Castillo/Van Blerk, Guatemala, 30 points
- 2nd, Modderman/Modderman, USA, 39 points
- 3rd, Figueroa/Ortega, Puerto Rico, 44 points
Lightning: (FINAL (SILVER)
- 1st, Fracchia/Salerno/Conte, Argentina, 25 points
- 2nd, Coplan/Prior/Patten, USA, 37 points
- 3rd, Biekark/Ficker/Hackerott, Brazil, 43 points
RS:X Women: FINAL (BRONZE)
- 1st, Patricia Freitas, Brazil, 15 points
- 2nd, Demita Vega, Mexico, 20 points
- 3rd , Marion Lepert, USA, 44 points
49er FX: FINAL (BRONZE)
- 1st, Travascio/Branz, Argentina, 36 points
- 2nd, Soffiati Grael/Kunze, Brazil, 43 points
- 3rd, Henken/Scutt, USA, 47 points
Snipe: FINAL (BRONZE)
- 1st, Rios/Pacheco, Puerto Rico, 20 points
- 2nd, Soubie/Lipszyc, Argentina, 38 points
- 3rd, Diaz/Tocke, USA, 46 points
Laser Men: FINAL
- 1st, Juan Maegli, Guatemala, 39 points
- 2nd, Robert Scheidt, Brazil, 47 points
- 3rd, Lee Parkhill, Canada, 53 points
- 4th, Charlie Buckingham, USA, 57 points
Sunfish: FINAL
- 1st, Jonathan Mawyin, Ecuador, 45 points
- 2nd, Luke Ramsay, Canada, 45 points
- 3rd, Andres Sorucco, Chile, 49 points
- 4th, Joao Hackerott, Brazil, 50 points
- 5th, Jean Paul Valdez, Peru, 57 points
- 6th, Conner Blouin, USA, 69 points
RS:X Men: FINAL
- 1st, Ricardo do Santos, Brazil, 25 points
- 2nd, David Teran, Mexico, 32 points
- 3rd, Mariano Reutemann, Argentina, 33 points
- 4th, Daniel Perez, Venezuela, 49 points
- 5th, Zac Plavsic, Canada, 59 points
- 6th, Carson Crain, USA, 70 points
Athletes must be American citizens to qualify for the US Pan American Sailing Team.
Event Reports:
- Day 7: A Gold and Two Bronzes For USA Olympic Classes
- Day 6: Medal Race Fields Determined
- Day 5: Buckingham Strikes Back
- Day 4: Railey Fends Off Challengers
- Day 3: USA Takes the Lead in Laser and Radial
- Day 2: Three More Race wins for USA
- Day 1: USA Leads Three Classes
- US Sailing Pan Am Games Preview
- US Sailing Announces Pan Am Games Team
Schedule:
- Saturday, July 11: Practices Races
- July 12-17: Qualifying Races
- July 18-19: Medal Races
- July 20: Reserve Day
Pan Am Games Media Guide:
About the Pan American Games
Held every four years in the year before the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games are the third largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. The history of the Pan American Games dates back to 1951 when the Games were first hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2015 Pan American Games mark the 17th celebration of the Pan American Sports Organization event. The U.S. has hosted the event twice, in Indianapolis in 1987 and Chicago in 1959.
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 Sperry. 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.