The incredible lineup in the U.S Olympic Sailing Team

On the way to the pinnacle of international sailing, the US Sailing Team has been preparing hard for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Normally, the year before the Games athletes would be relentlessly relocating, training and competing around the world for the last spots in the Olympic Games. However, with COVID-19 and travel restrictions, all international athletes have had less time to prepare despite being equally or even more excited about this year’s Games. 

A general scope on the sailing olympic classes

13 sailors will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in July and August. They come from nine US states including California, Illinois, Florida, New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island, the US Virgin Islands and Wisconsin. 

Sailing events will be based on the island of Enoshima, 35 miles southwest of Tokyo. They will feature up to 350 athletes competing in 10 sailing classes. These are:

• RS:X - Windsurfer (Men/Women)
• Laser - One Person Dinghy (Men)
• Laser Radial - One Person Dinghy (Women)
• Finn - One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) (Men)
• 470 - Two Person Dinghy (Men/Women) 
• 49er - Skiff (Men)
• 49er FX - Skiff (Women) 
• Nacra 17 Foiling - Mixed Multihull

The Tokyo 2020 U.S Olympic Sailing Team lineup, listed in order of date of selection) is as follows:

49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff)

Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea, from the Team Roble-Shea have been the american athletes on the 49erFX trail together since 2016, and together they have earned several medals at major events including the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series in Genoa. Moreover, they earned the bronze medal during the 49erFX World Championship in 2020. Both Roble and Shea await their olympic debuts in Tokyo this summer. 

Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull)

Riley Gibbs and Anna Weis will be the U.S multihull pair competing in the 2020 summer olympics. They both have been winning international medals, as in the Pan American Games Champions in 2019 they earned the first place and also earned the bronze medal at the 2020 Oceania Championship.

The pair will also be debuting in the Olympics this year. 

ILCA 6 - Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy)

Paige Railey will attend the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the third consecutive time. She is a five-time World Championship medalist, a Rolex World Sailor of the Year and has won a medal three times at the Pan American Games. 

You might like: finding out how the first half of the Allianz Regatta developed in Medemblik. 

Finn (Men’s One-Person Heavyweight Dinghy)

The chosen American olympic athlete for the Finn class is Luke Muller. He has won several national championships as a Laser sailor, and now in the Heavyweight Dinghy category Muller medaled in the 2019 Finn Hempel World Cup Series - Miami. 

Moreover, he was sixth at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto.These are also the first Olympics for Luke Muller. 

ILCA 7 -Standard (Men’s One-Person Dinghy)

Charlie Buckingham will be representing the United States this year in the Olympics. He is the Laser North American Champion, twice the College Sailor of the Year and the Lima 2019 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist. 

In addition, recently he has been performing excellently and has won the 2020 Italian Olympic Class Championship and the 4th position at the Kieler Woche. 

Women’s RS:X

Farrah Hall will be making her second appearance on the Olympic stage after her participation at the London 2012 Games. She has medaled at different RS:X events including the 2015 Semaine Olympique Francaise or the 2018 North American Championships. 

Men’s RS:X

In the Men’s category, Pedro Pascual will also be making his second Olympic appearance as he participated in the 2016 Rio Games. Pascual has won the gold medals at the RS:ONE European Championship, RS:X Worlds and 2020 Sailing World Cup Miami. 

Men’s 470 (Two-Person Dinghy)

Stu McNay and Dave Hughes will be competing in the 470 Men’s class. This will be McNay’s fourth consecutive time at the Olympic Games, and the second time with Hughes. This pair has been working together since 2012.

They have earned several podium finishes and medals at World Cups and Continental levels; however, they barely missed the podium during the 2016 Rio Games. After earning the 5th place at the 2021 World Championships, they are both hoping this time they earn the gold medal in Tokyo.

Women’s 470 (Two-Person Dinghy)

The last two American athletes to make it to the Olympic Games are Nikole Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss. This is their first Olympic Games appearance, however, ending 7th in the 2021 World Championship, they stand a chance to earn the podium in Enoshima. 

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Images from US Sailing Team