Beijing Profile US Sailing Head Coach Gary Bodie

by US Sailing Media on 7 Aug 2008 Gary Bodie has coached intercollegiate sailing since 1978, working at Old Dominion University, the Naval Academy, and Hampton University. His teams have won an unprecedented fifteen College National Championships, including four Dinghy Championships. Individual sailors coached by Bodie have earned 30 first team All-American honors, 26 All-American crew, 11 All-American women, plus 11 Honorable Mentions.

The most important individual award, College Sailor of the Year, has been awarded four times to sailors in Bodie's programs.

Prior to the 1996 Olympics, Bodie worked as a private coach with Olympic aspirants in Lasers, Europes, 470's, and Finns. In 1998, Gary was named as Head Coach and High Performance Director for the U.S. Sailing Team, and he worked specifically with Laser and Soling sailors leading up to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The U.S. Olympic Sailing Team won four medals in Sydney: Gold in the Star class, Silver in the Men’s and Women’s 470, and Bronze in the 49er class. In 2004, sailors won Gold in the Men’s 470 class and Silver in the Tornado. For the 2008 Games, Gary again serves as High Performance Director, coaching that same Tornado duo in their fourth Olympics while most of the 2008 sailors are attending their first Olympic Games.

Bodie has also served as U.S. Team Leader/Coach for four ISAF Youth World Championships, and the ISAF Team Race World Championship. Gary served several years as chairman of the US SAILING Team Racing Committee, and has been a member of the Youth and the Inshore committees. He has been a long time member of the Board of Directors for High School Sailing.

Bodie raced many one design classes, but the 505 was his favorite for almost 20 years. Victories included Bermuda Race Week, CORK, East Coasts, and Midwinter Championships. Bodie has also finished top ten in the 505 World Championship. Three-on-three team racing is his other sailing passion, and he competes whenever his schedule permits. Fast family cruising on an F-27 trimaran is Bodie's latest sailing adventure.

Gary graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering. He is married to the former Mary Pitchford of Norfolk, Virginia, and they have three daughters, Kelly, Katie, and Caroline.

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