 |
 |
  Paralympic Games Success - Sailing news from North America & beyond
 | | Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), U.S. Paralympic Team & US Sailing Team Sperry (national team) © Jasper van Staveren / Delta Lloyd Regatta |
Four years ago, the American-flagged Olympic sailing team suffered a medal-ceremony shutout at the London 2012 Olympics-our first Olympic trouncing since the Berlin 1936 Olympics. The situation was looking downright bleak for American sailing interest in the UK, but then JP Creignou and Jen French earned a proud silver medal in the two-person SKUD-18 at the London 2012 Paralympics, fulfilling their dream while also saving the Americans the embarrassment of sailing home empty-handed.
 | | Jen French and JP Creignou earned a Silver medal in the Skud 18 class at the London Paralympics 2012 David Staley - IFDS © |
Flash forward four years, and a young and relatively fledgling American squad (only two of our 15 sailors at the Rio 2012 Olympics had previous Olympic sailing experience) arrived in Rio, intent to correct history. The team spent the last quadrennial improving on all aspects of the game, from fundraising to coaching to international travel and competition, and it showed.
Team USA's efforts were proud, the team qualified for six medal races, with several teams in the medal-ceremony hunt, but-at the end of the Olympic regatta-the Americans sailed home with a single bronze medal, earned by Caleb Paine in the one-man Finn class.
 | | Caleb Paine after securing Finn class Bronze at Rio 2016 Amory Ross © |
While this was a clear improvement over the London debacle, the team was still a long way below its historic high-water marks, which had typically included multiple medals, ideally atop the podium stairs.
Fortunately, Team USA had one more shot at redemption under the watchful gaze of Rio's world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, which ran from September 7-18, and our athletes did not disappoint.
 | | Rick Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund, Sonar Class, on Friday - 2016 Rio Paralympic Games Will Ricketson / US Sailing Team |
Unlike the Olympics, which feature five Men's classes and four women's classes, in addition to the mixed-sex Nacra 17 multihull class, the Paralympics features racing in just three classes, namely the one-person 2.4mR, the two-person SKUD-18, and the three-person Sonar, meaning that our Paralympic team had seven less chances to earn medals than our Olympic sailors.
Fortunately, this sort of thinking was absent from the minds of Sonar sailors Rick Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freud, who won a proud silver medal in Rio for Team USA. Impressively, this same duo won the 2016 Sonar Para World Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands, earlier this year.
 | | Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J., left), Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine, center) and Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla., right) secure silver at Rio 2016. Thomas Lovelock © OIS/IOC |
'We came into [the medal race at the Rio 2016 Paralympics] in a similar position as we had at the [Para] World Championship earlier this year, with everything to play for on the final day,' said Freund. 'We really sailed the way the three of us know how to sail this boat.'
While this achievement is massive on an individual level, it's also a big boost to American Olympic and Paralympic sailing interests.
 | | Rick Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund, Sonar Class. Will Ricketson / US Sailing Team |
'Rick, Brad, and Hugh sailed a great series and earned their silver medal today by racing smart and fast in the final race, on a difficult course and under pressure,' said Josh Adams, team leader for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and managing director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. 'They've worked incredibly hard as a team over the years and deserve this result.'
Moreover, the Rio 2016 Paralympics proved to be an even bigger event for Team Canada, which has not won an Olympic medal since the Athens 2004 Olympics (when Ross MacDonald and Mike Wolfs won silver in the Star class), as their three-person Sonar team of Paul Tingley, Scott Lutes and Logan Campbell finished just astern of Doerr, Freund and Kendell to collect a bronze medal, while John McRoberts and Jackie Gay collected a silver in the two-person SKUD-18 class.
 | | Canadian SKUD-18 sailors John McRoberts and Jackie Gay (CAN 058) won the last race of the week. 2014 IFDS Worlds Tim Wilkes © |
Please take a moment to raise a glass to honor and recognize the proud efforts of Team Canada's and Team USA's athletes, coaches and programs, both at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
|