Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta - Competitive test for U.S.

by Will Ricketson on 4 Aug 2014 Racing at the Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta (Olympic Test Event) gets underway on on Sunday August 3rd with Rio de Janeiro's mountainous skyline and scenery providing a dramatic backdrop. For US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes, the event will provide another competitive test and a key opportunity to learn more about a unique sailing venue. 'For the national sailing teams that have invested to date in Rio training, this is an important event,' said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. 'For the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, next week marks the culmination of over a year’s worth of planning and a key step forward in the process of preparing for the ultimate test in Rio 2016.'

(Read Adams' full comments on this week's event: here)

US sailors are focused on learning as much as possible during their time training in Rio and from the test event racing. 'We need to maximize every moment on the water to build a better understanding of the key conditions here,' said Nacra 17 athlete Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.). 'Obviously we want to perform well at this event,' said 470 crew Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.). 'However, it's not so much about the results as it is learning what we need to know about the venue. If we accomplish that, it'll be a successful regatta for us.'

Significant planning and resources have been devoted to providing US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes with Rio de Janeiro training opportunities in the leadup to 2016. Thanks to a generous donation, a full fleet of Olympic-class boats has been purchased by US Sailing and placed in Rio for racing and training. 'The US Sailing Team boats we have here in Rio provide an opportunity to put more training hours in on the water and against the world's best competition in Olympic sailing,' said Nacra 17 crew John Casey (Miami, Fla.).

Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta (Rio Test Event)
US Sailing Roster (Class, Athlete/Team, Hometown):

470 Men (Men’s Two-Person):
1. Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)

470 Women: (Women’s Two-Person)
1. Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.)
2. Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

49er (Men’s Two-Person High-Performance):
1. Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) and Zach Brown (San Francisco/San Diego, Calif.)
2. Brad Funk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.)

49erFX (Women's Two-Person High-Performance):
1. Kristen Lane (San Francisco, Calif.) and Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.
2. Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y./Newport R.I.)

Finn (Men’s Heavyweight One-Person):
1. Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)

Laser (Men’s One-Person):
1. Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
2. Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.)

Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person):
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.
2. Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull):
1. Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) and John Casey (Miami, Fla.)
2. Stephanie Hudson (East Troy, Wisc.) and Ian Andrews (Kailua, Hawaii)

RS:X Men (Men’s Board):
1. Carson Crain (Houston, Texas)
2. Jonathan Rudich (Clearwater, Fla.)