Pictured: Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), a Pan American Games gold and bronze medalist in the Laser Radial class.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 10, 2015
Toronto, Canada – All fourteen members of the Toronto 2015 US Pan American Sailing Team have gathered on the shores of Lake Ontario as preparation continues for the Pan Am Games regatta, which starts on Sunday, July 12. American sailors will compete in nine classes* at Toronto 2015, and have three returning medalists from the sailing competition at Guadalajara 2011. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) will look to add to her Pan Am Games medal haul, which includes a gold (2007) and bronze (2011). In the Snipe, Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.) took home silver four years ago, and aim to finish one position better at this edition of the 64-year old quadrennial event.
See Also: US Sailing Announces 2015 Pan Am Games Team
“Toronto is clearly ready for this major competition,” said Josh Adams, the Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing and Team Leader for Toronto 2015. “Sailing should be a spotlight sport here, since the race courses are close to shore. Several of our athletes have been training here well in advance of the regatta. They have been familiarizing themselves with Lake Ontario, and we are all excited for racing to get underway.”
The US team features multiple athletes who are new to the Pan Am Games, such as the Lightning Class team of Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) and Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.). “We’ve been training at the venue since Sunday, and we’ve also done a lot of additional work in the lead up to the event,” said Coplan, who along with Toronto 2015 crew Prior finished second overall at the most recent Lightning Class World Championship. “We’re pretty pumped on how we’re working as a team right now. The race course closest to land looks shifty and unpredictable, and we are still learning about the courses farther out into the lake. It’s a beautiful City, and we have a great view from the sailing venue at Royal Canadian Yacht Club.”
The USA Lightning readies for action before Toronto 2015.
Fellow Pan Am Games rookie and Sunfish sailor Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) said he was a bit awestruck at the atmosphere surrounding the event. “It’s just cool, period.” said Blouin. “It’s my first time being at an event like this. Every piece of Toronto 2015 is geared towards making [athletes] successful. The city has really rolled out the red carpet, and it’s special to be a part of it.”
Two races are scheduled to be held each day in the Laser, Laser Radial, Sunfish, Snipe, Lightning and Hobie 16 classes. Three races per day will be held in RS:X Men, RS:X Women and 49erFX classes. The first races of the day are scheduled to start at 11:30AM local time. A medal race will be held for each class, which will count for double points.
Schedule:
- Saturday, July 11: Practices Races
- July 12-17: Qualifying Races
- July 18-19: Medal Races
- July 20: Reserve Day
ESPN Broadcast:
ESPN and ESPN Deportes will offer an Olympic-style TV production and complete multi-platform coverage of the 2015 Pan American Games from Toronto, starting Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET with the Opening Ceremony live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and with replays available on ESPN3.
ESPN3 will carry 580 hours of Pan American Games programming, with live access to almost every competition in more than 15 different sports. While sailing will not be covered live, regatta updates will appear in event highlight reels during the broadcast.
Toronto 2015 U.S. Pan American Sailing Team Roster:
- RS:X Men: Carson Crain (Houston, Texas)
- RS:X Women: Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif.)
- Laser Men: Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
- Laser Radial Women: Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
- 49er FX: Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)
- Snipe: Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.)
- Hobie 16: Mark Modderman (Long Branch, N.J.) and Grace Modderman (Rumson, N.J.)
- Lightning: Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) and Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.)
- Sunfish: Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.)
Athletes must be American citizens to qualify for the US Pan American Sailing Team. Since sailing was included in the Pan American Games in 1955, the United States has won 78 medals in sailing: 33 gold, 27 silver and 18 bronze.
Team Staff:
- Team Leader: Josh Adams (Litchfield, Conn.)
- Head Coach: Luther Carpenter (La Porte, Texas)
- Coach: Mark Littlejohn (Brighton, U.K.)
- Coach: Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.)
- Assistant Team Leader: Meredith Brody (Newport, R.I.)
- Press Officer: Will Ricketson (Newport, R.I.)
- Physiotherapist: Kyle Krupa (Miami, Fla.)
*Note on the absence of a US J/24 team at Toronto 2015: The United States did not qualify for the Pan Am Games in the J/24 class.
Pan Am Games Media Guide:
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.