Team USA is poised to take on sailing at the Pan American Games Lima 2019

by US Sailing 3 Aug 2019 04:09 PDT 3-9 August 2019

On Saturday, August 3, 2019, 168 sailors representing 26 countries will begin racing at the Pan American Games Lima 2019 (Pan Am Games). The Pan Am Games occur every four years in the year preceding the Summer Olympic Games.

The 2019 edition of the event will feature 11 sailing medal events. Athletes will have the opportunity to win the title of Pan American Games Medalist in the Men's and Women's RS:X, Men's Laser, Women's Laser Radial, Men's 49er, Women's 49erFX, Mixed Nacra 17, Open Sunfish, Open Formula Kite, Mixed Lightning, and Mixed Snipe classes. A total of 17 athletes will be representing Team USA across all 11 classes.

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
• Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) - Women's Laser Radial
• Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.) & Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.) - Men's 49er
• Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) & Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) - Women's 49erFX
• Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) & Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - Mixed Nacra 17
• Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) - Open Sunfish
• Will Cyr (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) - Open Formula Kites
• Jody Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.), Ian Jones (Buffalo, N.Y.), & Skip Dieball (Grosse Ile, Mich.) - Mixed Lightning
• Ernesto Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) & Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.) - Mixed Snipe

Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) both represented Team USA at the most recent Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games in the Men's Laser and Open Sunfish classes, respectively. Lightning sailor and Pan Am Games veteran, Jody Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.), competed in the Mar de Plata 1995 Games in the Women's 470 and the Rio de Janeiro 2007 Games in the Mixed Lightning. Snipe athlete, Ernesto Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) also competed in Mar de Plata. In 1995, he sailed under the Cuban flag in the Men's Laser fleet.

While a few of the athletes have competed at the event before, this will be the first Pan Am Games for several U.S. sailors. Nacra 17 skipper, Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) is looking forward to representing Team USA for the first time. "Competing at the Pan Am Games will be pretty special," said Gibbs. "Representing your country on this world stage is nothing shy of spectacular, so putting on the Team USA uniform, you definitely get a different feeling than putting on your everyday clothing."

In addition to fighting for a Medal, Gibbs and his crew Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) are among several athletes that will be competing to qualify the country for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Before earning selection to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, U.S. athletes must first qualify the country for representation. 49erFX athletes, Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.), and 49er athletes, Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Ian Mac Diarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.), will also be competing for country qualification this week. The top North American country in each class will earn a berth to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

For some sailors in the non-Olympic classes, the stakes at the Pan Am Games are even higher. "For Olympic Class boats, the Olympics are the pinnacle. Everything you do is for that goal. For the non-Olympic Classes, participation in the Pan Am Games holds the same importance," said Team USA Lightning crew, Skip Dieball (Grosse Ile, Mich.). "Representing your country in such an event is an honor and privilege. My teammates and I have traveled all over the world. To sail with the support of an entire community, both within and outside our class and sport, is very special."

Racing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, August 8 for the Open Sunfish, Mixed Snipe, Mixed Lightning, and Formula Kite classes and on Saturday, August 9 for the Men's and Women's RS:X, Men's 49er, Women's 49erFX, and Mixed Nacra 17 classes. Upon the conclusion of racing, the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists will be decided.

Schedule:

• August 3-8 - Opening Series
• August 9 - Medal Races for RS:X (M), RS:X (F), 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, Laser Standard and Laser Radial
• August 9 - Reserve day for opening series races for Sunfish, Snipe, Lightning and Formula Kite