Reineke takes gold in Enoshima Olympic Week

by US Sailing on 30 Oct 2017 US Sailing Team Laser Radial athlete Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) won gold at the conclusion of a stormy Enoshima Olympic Week, the first large multi-class regatta to be held at the site of the Tokyo 2020 sailing competition during this Olympic cycle. The three-time youth and U21 ILCA World Champion dominated the 51-boat Radial fleet, leading wire-to-wire and securing an 18-point margin of victory against many of the world’s best in Enoshima, which also hosted the 1964 Olympic regatta.

“While the US Sailing Team was not targeting Enoshima Olympic Week as a peak performance event this year, we are proud of Erika’s result here, and also of the effort of our team as a whole. The team spirit that has developed was especially evident during the regatta pack-up and container loading in the pouring rain,” said Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.), two-time gold medalist and Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “We came to Japan hoping to get mentally comfortable with Enoshima, to continue a long and thorough process of studying the 2020 sailing venue, and to get some high-quality racing in. I would say that all three goals of our trip have been met.”

Reineke was joined in Japan by eight other national team athletes, as well as coaches and support staff. Other American results included a fourth in the 49erFX skiff by Steph Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.); 10th in the 49erFX by Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.), who sailed with fellow Washingtonian Kate Shaner (Kirkland, Wash.) in the FX to gain experience in Enoshima while Nacra 17 teammate Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) recovers from an injury; eighth in the Men’s 470 by Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.); 12th in the Men’s 49er by Judge Ryan (San Diego, Calif.) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and 19th in the Men’s Laser by Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.).

“I’m happy to come away with gold here in Enoshima, and hopefully in three years I can repeat that,” said Reineke after hitting the dock on Sunday as heavy rains fell. “I think Enoshima is an awesome venue. There’s great food, nice people, and it’s a fun surfer town. The fact that the venue is on an island is kinda cool; it’s very secluded. The sailing conditions can be hard, and it reminds me of the Charles River in Boston where I did a lot of sailing for Boston College,” said the 2017 ICSA Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year and four-time ICSA Singlehanded National Champion.

The US Sailing Team will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado in two weeks for a full-squad training camp at the U.S. Olympic Complex (CSOTC) in Colorado Springs, the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee. The team will focus on fitness, sports medicine, planning, and academic topics while in Colorado, and train alongside many current and future Olympic athletes from other sports. The CSOTC can provide housing, dining, training facilities, recreational facilities and other services for up to 500 athletes and coaches at one time.

The next major regatta for the team will be the 2018 World Cup Series in Miami, USA (January 21-28, 2018).