2016 Rio Olympic Games - Team USA battles the conditions

by Will Ricketson on 10 Aug 2016 Rio 2016 Olympic sailing athletes got their first taste of light air conditions on Day 2 of racing on Guanabara Bay, with the early races in each of the five currently-active classes being defined by a treacherous tactical environment. All racing on Day 2 took place inside Guanabara Bay.

Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) struggled early on, but executed a dramatic comeback in the opening race of the men’s heavyweight Finn class. “It was exciting racing. (The breeze) was coming in from both the left and right, and it would die and then build,” said the 2012 Sailing World Cup series champion. “The first race I rounded fairly decently around the weather mark, right in the middle (of the fleet), but then unfortunately there was a wind shift and I got passed by quite a few boats. I hung in there and was able to catch up on the final beat, going from the bottom five to seventh.” After two races on Tuesday, Paine stands in eighth overall.

Paine’s resilience paid off, and he credited his overall mental approach. “It’s just tenacity,” said Paine. “Being able to realize that the race isn’t over until its over, and to keep pushing all the way through until the finish line. You never know what can happen in a sailboat race, so you might as well push all the way.”

Tuesday’s races were Paine’s first as an Olympian, and the significance of the moment did not escape the San Diego native. “The Olympics is what I’ve been training for the last six years, and now to be able to do it is a fantastic feeling, and exciting,” said Paine. “It’s interesting to hear stories about the Olympics, and then experience it yourself, while knowing I can rely on those stories in a way that hopefully gets me a medal.”

The Finn fleet is scheduled to move from today’s flat and shifty “Pão de Açucar” course on Guanabara Bay to the open-ocean “Niterói” course tomorrow, which often features sizable waves. Wednesday’s forecast also calls for strong wind. “I think it’s going to be a little easier (tomorrow) in the sense that it’s not as shifty,” said Paine. “It will be a physically taxing day outside, with big breeze. Grinding and boat speed are going to be key.”

Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) had an up-and-down day in the Laser Radial, finishing 10 ,23 in two races and is in 10th overall after two days of sailing on the “Escola Naval” and “Ponte” courses on Guanabara Bay. Racing areas in the Bay are known for their nuanced current and wave patterns, which have been the subject of intense study by most national teams since 2012. Nevertheless, Railey said that Tuesday’s racing served up some tactical curveballs. “We’ve spent a lot of time here, so I felt pretty prepared for stuff that was going to happen, and the conditions here,” said Railey. “It’s always the regatta curse, that whenever you start the racing it seems to be different than when you did all the training.”

Despite a tough second race, Railey remains undaunted. “You just kind of have to roll with the punches and go day by day,” said the two-time Olympian and World Champion. “It’s very difficult conditions, and everyone is up and down. We’ll see if things start to steady out over time.”

Men’s Laser athlete Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) had a rollercoaster of a day as well, and recorded scores closely matching Railey’s with a 10,23 on the “Ponte” course. The Laser North American Champion sits in 16th overall, and like Railey will race on the open-ocean “Copacabana” course tomorrow off Rio’s iconic beach.

Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif., Women’s RS:X) recorded scores of 13,22(RDG),23 in the women’s RS:X board fleet. In the second race of the day (Race five), Lepert was involved in a collision with a Brazilian athlete. Lepert won the resulting protest and was awarded redress by the jury, which will make her race five score equal to that of the average points of the rest of her scores during the regatta. In the Men’s RS:X fleet, Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla., Men’s RS:X) recorded scores of 27,37,29 on the day.

Sailing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will continue on Wednesday, August 10, which will be the first day of competition for the Men’s and Women’s 470 classes and Americans Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.), Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.), Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.).



U.S. Sailing Team Results: Day 2 (Tuesday, August 9)

Men’s Finn: (Top 10)

1. SLO – ZBOGAR Vasilij: 4 points
2. TUR – KAYNAR Alican: 7 points
3. ARG – OLEZZA BAZAN Facundo: 10 points
4. BRA – ZARIF Jorge: 10 points
5. CRO – KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan: 14 points
6. DEN – HOGH-CHRISTENSEN Jonas: 15 points
7. ITA – POGGI Giorgio: 15 points
8. USA – PAINE Caleb: 17 points
9. EST – KARPAK Deniss: 19 points
10. GBR – SCOTT Giles: 20 points

Women’s Laser Radial: (Top 10)

1. CHN- XU, Lijia, 7 points
2. IRL – MURPHY, Annalise: 12 points
3. DEN – RINDOM, Anne-Marie: 13 points
4. NED – BOUWMEESTER, Marit: 14 points
5. BEL – VAN ACKER, Evi: 16 points
6. LTU – SCHEIDT, Ginter: 18 points
7. FIN – TENKANEN, Tuula: 22 points
8. CRO – MIHELIC, Tina: 25 points
9. HUN – ERDI, Maria: 26 points
10. USA – RAILEY, Paige: 27 points

Women’s RS:X: (Top 10)

1. ITA – TARTAGLINI, Flavia: 12 points
2. FRA – PICON, Charline: 13 points
3. RUS – ELFUTINA, Stefaniya: 18 points
4. NED – DE GEUS, Lilian: 20 points
5. ISR – DAVIDOVICH, Maayan: 24 points
6. ESP – ALABAU NEIRA, Marina: 31 points
7. FIN – PETAJA-SIREN, Tuuli: 31 points
8. CHN – CHEN, Peina: 39 points
9. USA – LEPERT, Marion: 45 points (unofficial)
10. BRA – FRETS, Patricia: 47 points (unofficial)

Men’s Laser:

16. USA – BUCKINGHAM, Charlie: 37 points

Men’s RS:X:

30. USA – PASCUAL, Pedro: 136 points