US Sailing announces 2019 U.S. Pan American Games Sailing Team

U.S. Pan American Games Sailing Team © US Sailing

US Sailing has named the 17 sailors that will be representing the United States at the XVIII Pan American Games.

The Pan American Games (Pan Am Games) take place every four years, in the year preceding the Olympic Games. The Pan Am Games is the third-largest multi-sport event in the world behind the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 2019 Pan Am Games will take place in Lima, Peru on July 26-August 11. The sailing events will take place from August 3-10 in Paracas, Peru.

2019 U.S. Pan American Games Sailing Team Roster:

• Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.) - Men's RS:X
• Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) - Women's RS:X
• Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) - Men's Laser Standard
• Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - Women's Laser Radial
• Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.) - Men's 49er
• Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) - Women's 49erFX
• Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - Mixed Nacra 17
• Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) - Open Sunfish
• Will Cyr (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) - Open Kites
• Jody Stark (Buffalo, N.Y.), Ian Jones (Buffalo, N.Y.), and Skip Dieball (Grosse Ile, Mich.) - Mixed Lightning
• Ernesto Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) and Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.) - Mixed Snipe

Apart from Erika Reineke, each of the above sailors won their class' trials. Laser Radial athlete, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), earned selection at the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series Miami (HWCSM). However, Railey will be placing her focus on training in Japan and will not be competing at the Pan Am Games. Reineke finished just four points behind Railey at HWCSM. As the next-highest finishing U.S. Laser Radial sailor, she will represent the country in Lima.

Since sailing events were added to the Pan Am Games in 1955, the United States has won 81 medals in sailing: 33 gold, 27 silver, and 21 bronze. Some sailors on the 2019 team will be returning competitors.

Sunfish sailor, Conner Blouin competed at the Pan Am Games in 2015 and is looking forward to returning to the event, "I'm really excited to represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games. I broke my wrist in 2015 and came in very underprepared for the last round in Toronto," said Blouin. "I was disappointed in my performance there. I couldn't be happier about getting a second chance."

Blouin's fellow 2015 team member, Charlie Buckingham, will also be returning to the Pan Am Games this summer. Buckingham finished fourth in the Men's Laser fleet in Toronto.

The Pan American Games is a unique event for sailors. In that, it is a world-class regatta that features Olympic and non-Olympic classes on the same race courses. Following USOC approval, all the sailors listed above will be considered members of Team USA. All Olympic class sailors will also be considered members of the US Sailing Team.

Learn more about the XVIII Pan American Games and the US Sailing Team.