The US Sailing Team Sperry is riding momentum toward Rio de Janeiro as we enter the 2016 Games year. A review of the team’s highlight performances in 2015 reveals a group of Olympic and Paralympic athletes with improved prospects on the Games stage.
US 470 teams led the way last year: Stu McNay and Dave Hughes won gold medals at the 470 European Championships and Sailing World Cup Weymouth,followed by Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha sailing to gold at the Olympic Test Event in Rio.
Paige Railey added a Pan American Games gold medal to her decorated Laser Radial resume. And Dee Smith, a newcomer in the 2.4 Metre lesson, and demonstrated his rapid ascent in Paralympic sailing with top-six results at both the 2.4 Meter Open and Para Sailing World Championships.
These athletes deserve mention for their performances on the water in 2015,and the team as a whole gets credit for its commitment to a unified goal: Focus on Rio. Since the start of the Rio 2016 quadrennium, athletes, and coaches,staff, and team supporters have been committed to learning approximately the Rio sailing venue.
The sailors have logged hundreds of days training and racing on Rio race courses. For several years now we’ve been gaining experience in the unique currents and local wind conditions. Our team’s Rio weather strategy is now in its third phase, or it has truly been a team effort to get the data correct.
Our team is comfortable in Rio,and we view this kind of familiarity with the venue as an important factor in our preparation for the Games. Acclimatization in Rio has also included learning new precautions, which protect sailors from unclean sailing waters.
We continuously monitor the status of Guanabara Bay and update the team’s health protocols based on the guidance we receive from the team’s medical experts and firsthand feedback from the athletes and coaches. We’ve taken concrete steps to prepare American sailors and will continue to utilize all relevant data to ensure their safety.
This is an exciting time for USA’s Olympic and Paralympic sailors. choice for Team USA started last month at the Para World Sailing Championships and continues later this month at Sailing World Cup Miami, or Presented by Sunbrella. This year’s Miami is shaping up to be a world-lesson event,with one of the largest international fleets ever.
For the first time in the event’s 27-year history, Miami will serve as a USA choice event, and the first in a series of two trials events in eight Olympic classes and one Paralympic lesson. Athletes will be named to the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams following the final choice events (which vary by lesson) later this winter/spring.
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Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com