Rio 2016 (Sailing): Henken and Scutt Stay Consistent, Four Medal Races Set for Tuesday

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WATCH: The Rio Report – N.9 – Day 8 day ended with a gale but the 49er and 49erFX classes managed to score three races apiece on the ocean courses outside Guanabara Bay. Hear from 49er crew Joe Morris on how he and skipper Thomas Barrows are sailing so far, and the 49erFX team of Paris Henken and Helena Scutt offer some insight into their hunt for the Rio medal race.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Weather challenges harried race officials and competitors alike on Day 8 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games sailing competition, and the only classes to complete races were the Men’s 49er and Women’s 49erFX. Racing was delayed on the inner-harbor courses for most of the afternoon due to lack of breeze, but at approximately 3:00PM local time a cold front arrived in Rio bringing 35-knot winds with it. The Laser and Laser Radial medal races were postponed by race officials until Tuesday.

Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) said she had been excited to sail in the heavy winds, but the the eventual abandonment of the racing was not a distraction. “It’s just a part of sailing,” said the two-time Olympian. “We’re not inside an arena, and we’re always waiting for the weather, which dictates a lot of our racing. All we can do is go back to bed, wake up tomorrow, and try again.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Pictured: Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.), Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.), 49erFX.

Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.) went 11, 8, 8 in the 49erFX fleet, which kept them in the hunt for a medal race berth. “Once the first race came around, it was about 12-14 knots. We ended up getting three races off before the squall came in,” said Henken. Scutt said they’ve been pleased by their consistent performance so far, and hope to finish strong. “Personally, I’m having a ton of fun,” said Scutt. “It’s really competitive racing, and we’ve had some fun conditions. I think [in terms of] the stress, we’ve just been rolling with it. We’re strong as a team, and it’s showing in the results.”

Henken said that despite the intense weather at the end of the day, they needed to remain focused. “We’re on the cusp, and hopefully we can stay there. It would be super cool to make the medal race at the Games. We’ve come a long way.”

After three races completed today in the Men’s 49er class, two-time Olympian Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I) and Joe Morris (Annapolis, Md.) stand in 19th overall, and went 16, 16, 11 on Monday. “Obviously, this event is not going the way we would have liked,” said Morris. “Envisioning it, we would have had ourselves a bit higher up in the results.” Despite their frustration, Morris said he and Barrows had identified some positive takeaways, and were prepared to fight until the final race.

“I don’t think the scores reflect how well we’ve actually been sailing,” said Morris. “In four of the races, we’ve been in the single digits, and had a mishap that dropped us back. We do feel that we can sail with the fleet pretty well, and our speed and boat handling have been good. We’ve had a pretty low percentage success rate on the starts, and that’s what we’re looking to improve on the final day.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Pictured: Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I) and Joe Morris (Annapolis, Md.), Men’s 49er.

The Men’s and Women’s 470 fleets were originally scheduled to race on the “Escola Naval” course on Guanabara Bay, but the breeze never arrived, and race officials decided to move both fleets to the ocean. By the time the course changes were completed, only one Men’s 470 race was started, which resulted in a general recall. Shortly after that, the powerful weather front arrived, and the 470 fleets were forced to head to shore. Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) remain in 2nd overall in the women’s fleet, with Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) in 6th place in the men’s fleet.

In addition to the Laser and Laser Radial medal races, the Finn and Nacra 17 medal races are also scheduled to take place on Tuesday. Finn sailor Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) is in 4th overall, five points back from 3rd, and is set to challenge for a medal. In the Nacra 17, Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.) will aim to finish strong and improve their overall position in the top ten. Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif.) and Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.) have concluded racing in the Men’s and Women’s RS:X classes, along with Laser sailor Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.).

2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro

Pictured: Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.), Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.), Women’s 470. Daniel Forster/US Sailing Team.

U.S. Sailing Team Results: Day 8

Monday, August 15

Women’s 470 (Top 10): No Racing On Saturday

  1. GBR – MILLS Hannah / CLARK Saskia: 20
  2. USA – HAEGER Annie / PROVANCHA Briana: 24
  3. AUT – VADLAU Lara / OGAR Jolanta: 32
  4. SLO – MRAK Tina / MACAROL Veronika: 33
  5. FRA – LECOINTRE Camille / DEFRANCE Helene: 35
  6. JPN – KONDO YOSHIDA Ai / YOSHIOKA Miho: 36
  7. NZL – ALEH Jo / POWRIE Polly: 42
  8. BRA – OLIVEIRA Fernanda / BARBACHAN Ana Luiza: 44
  9. NED – ZEGERS Afrodite / VAN VEEN Anneloes: 47
  10. CHI – HORWITZ Nadja / MIDDLETON Sofia: 58

Men’s Finn: (Top 10)

  1. GBR – SCOTT Giles: 32 (Clinched gold medal)
  2. SLO – ZBOGAR Vasilij: 56
  3. CRO – KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan: 69
  4. USA – PAINE Caleb: 74
  5. SWE – SALMINEN Max: 74
  6. BRA – ZARIF Jorge: 81
  7. NED – POSTMA Pieter-Jan: 84
  8. NZL – JUNIOR Josh: 84
  9. ARG – OLEZZA BAZAN Facundo: 87
  10. GRE – MITAKIS Ioannis: 88

Men’s 470: (Top 10) No Racing On Saturday

  1. CRO – FANTELA Sime / MARENIC Igor: 14
  2. AUS – BELCHER Mathew / RYAN Will: 25
  3. GRE – MANTIS Panagiotis / KAGIALIS Pavlos: 32
  4. FRA – BOUVET Sofian / MION Jeremie: 36
  5. AUT – SCHMID Matthias / REICHSTAEDTER Florian: 42
  6. USA – MCNAY Stuart / HUGHES Dave: 42
  7. SWE – DAHLBERG Anton / BERGSTROM Fredrik: 45
  8. SUI – BRAUCHLI Yannick / HAUSSER Romuald: 50
  9. NZL – SNOW-HANSEN Paul / WILLCOX Daniel: 54
  10. GBR – PATIENCE Luke / GRUBE Chris: 58

Women’s 49erFX: (Top 10, did not race on Sunday)

  1. ESP – ECHEGOYEN DOMINGUEZ Tamara / BETANZOS MORO Berta: 30
  2. NZL – MALONEY Alex / MEECH Molly: 34
  3. BRA – GRAEL Martine / KUNZE Kahena: 35
  4. DEN – HANSEN Jena / SALSKOV-IVERSEN Katja Steen: 39
  5. GBR – DOBSON Charlotte / AINSWORTH Sophie: 48
  6. FRA – STEYAERT Sarah / COMPAN Aude: 58
  7. ITA – CONTI Giulia / CLAPCICH Francesca: 59
  8. NED – BEKKERING Annemiek / DUETZ Annette: 61
  9. USA – HENKEN Paris / SCUTT Helena: 64
  10. SWE – ERICSON Lisa / KLINGA Hanna: 65

Mixed Nacra 17: (Top 10)

  1. ARG – LANGE Santiago / CARRANZA SAROLI Cecilia: 65
  2. ITA – BISSARO Vittorio / SICOURI Silvia: 70
  3. AUT – ZAJAC Thomas / FRANK Tanja: 72
  4. AUS – WATERHOUSE Jason / DARMANIN Lisa:  74
  5. NZL – JONES Gemma / SAUNDERS Jason:  79
  6. SUI – BUHLER Matias / BRUGGER Nathalie: 80
  7. FRA – BESSON Billy / RIOU Marie: 83
  8. GBR – SAXTON Ben / GROVES Nicola: 91
  9. USA – GULARI Bora / CHAFEE Louisa: 98
  10. BRA – ALBRECHT Samuel / SWAN Isabel: 101

Women’s Laser Radial: (Top 10, did not race on Sunday)

  1. NED – BOUWMEESTER Marit: 47
  2. DEN – RINDOM Anne-Marie: 55
  3. IRL – MURPHY Annalise: 57
  4. BEL – VAN ACKER Evi: 66
  5. FIN – TENKANEN Tuula: 68.6
  6. LTU – SCHEIDT: 82
  7. SWE – OLSSON Josefin: 84
  8. GBR – YOUNG Alison: 91
  9. AUS – STODDART Ashley: 101
  10. USA – RAILEY Paige: 109

Men’s Laser: (Final)

11. USA – BUCKINGHAM, Charlie: 108 points

Women’s RS:X: (Final)

16. USA – LEPERT, Marion: 156.9 points

Men’s 49er: (Did not race on Sunday)

19. USA – Barrows, Thomas / MORRIS, Joe: 119

Men’s RS:X: (Final)

28. USA – PASCUAL, Pedro: 286 points

Note: Full results can be found at the Rio 2016 homepage. 

Viewing Guide

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will feature unprecedented coverage of sailing for fans in the United States. Between NBC’s world-class television and online programming, US Sailing’s multi-channel coverage, and comprehensive daily email reports sent directly to fans, anyone hoping to follow the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team will have a better view than during any previous Olympics.

For more details on how to follow the action, check out the US Sailing Team’s viewing guide.

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About The U.S. Olympic Sailing Team

The Rio 2016 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team is comprised of fifteen sailors hailing from eight U.S. States and territories including California, Washington, Maryland, Michigan, Rhode Island, Florida, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each athlete qualified for the team based on the results of US Sailing’s Rio 2016 Athlete Selection Series. The Games of the XXXI Olympiad will take place from August 5-21, 2016, and the sailing events will be based at Marina da Gloria on Rio de Janeiro’s harbor front. The largest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games will feature approximately 10,500 athletes from over 200 countries competing in 306 medal events. The sailing events will feature approximately 380 athletes competing in ten classes. Learn more about the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program at 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

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