U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team selection set to conclude at Para Worlds

by Will Ricketson on 24 May 2016 The 2016 Para World Sailing Championships (May 24-28), which will take place as part of the Delta Lloyd Regatta, will begin on Tuesday in Medemblik, the Netherlands. The event will be the final major gathering of Rio 2016 sailing medal hopefuls prior to the Paralympic Games in September, and will also serve as the last athlete selection event for the U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team. While Team USA athletes have already been selected in the three-person Sonar and one-person 2.4mR Paralympic sailing classes, The 2016 Para Worlds is the second of two regattas used to finalize athletes in the two-person SKUD-18 class.

The first regatta in the Rio 2016 selection series for the SKUD-18 was the 2015 Para Worlds in Melbourne, Australia (November 26 – December 3, 2015). Ryan Porteous (San Diego, Calif.) and Beijing 2008 SKUD-18 gold medalist Maureen McKinnon (Marblehead, Mass.) were the top American finishers in Melbourne (eighth overall), and as a result will go into Medemblik with a slight lead in the series over Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.), who sit two points behind.

For McKinnon, a Paralympic Champion and the most experienced of the four athletes vying for SKUD-18 selection, this is a familiar stage. “I think that the selection process definitely gets easier every time, from a mental standpoint,” said McKinnon. “You really do have to treat this event like any other regatta. We have been training hard for months in Clearwater, Florida and over here in Europe. We feel ready.”

McKinnon also noted that she and her teammate Porteous, a first-time Team USA hopeful, were proud of the hours they had put in on the water leading up to the 2016 Worlds. “Paralympic sailors can’t train full-time, since we all have jobs and ‘real lives’, and in our team’s case, live on different coasts,” said McKinnon. “We are always trying to make the best of every hour we can get. It was also amazing having a place like Clearwater Community Sailing Center (a US Sailing Team Sperry National Training Center) equipped with SKUD-18’s and a generous staff. We couldn’t have done this campaign without them.”

To win Rio selection, Everhart-Skeels and Walker will have to beat Porteous and McKinnon by two places overall in Medemblik. “I would have to say that we’re very excited for this regatta to start, and we aren’t nervous at all,” said Walker. “Receiving messages from all of our friends and family has given us a huge boost. It’s also an amazing and supportive atmosphere here among our competitors, since everyone knows that this is the U.S. selection event. One of the other teams even gave us some good-luck flowers earlier. It’s been awesome.”

The American Sonar and 2.4mR athletes selected for Rio 2016 will also be competing in Medemblik. Sonar sailors Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) will look to repeat their strong recent performance at Sailing World Cup Hyeres, where they finished on the podium. Similarly, Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.) will also try to get the most out of racing against most of the top Rio medal hopefuls.

The 2016 Para World Sailing Championships (May 24-28) will begin with opening races on Tuesday, and will continue until Saturday in Medemblik, The Netherlands.



US Competitors: 2016 Para World Sailing Championships:

SKUD-18 (Paralympic Two-Person Keelboat)

• Ryan Porteous (San Diego, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon (Marblehead, Mass.), US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)
• Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.), US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)

Sonar (Paralympic Three-Person Keelboat)

• Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), U.S. Paralympic Team and US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)

2.4mR (Paralympic One-Person Keelboat)

• Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.), U.S. Paralympic Team & US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)