US Sailing Team prepares for Tokyo 2020 Test Event

Laser World Championships © US Sailing Team

On Saturday, August 17, racing will begin at the Ready Steady Tokyo Olympic Sailing Test Event. The regatta will be held at the venue of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Enoshima Yacht Harbor in Enoshima, Japan.

Among the 363 competitors, 17 athletes will represent the United States at the event. The U.S. will have one entry in each class except in the Laser and Laser Radial fleets, where two entrants will sail under the American flag.

U.S. Competitors at Ready Steady Tokyo Sailing Olympic Test Event

• Men's 470 - Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
• Women's 470 - Nikole Barnes (Miami, Fla.) and Lara Dallman-Weis (Shoreview, Minn.)
• Men's Laser - Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
• Men's Laser - Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.)
• Women's Laser Radial - Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
• Women's Laser Radial - Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Men's 49er - Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.)
• Women's 49erFX - Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.)
• Men's RS:X - Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
• Women's RS:X - Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)
• Men's Finn - Luke Muller (Fort Pierce, Fla.)
• Mixed Nacra 17 - Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Heading into the event, several of the US Sailing Team athletes will have the momentum of recent medal wins at the Pan American Games on their side. Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) received the Bronze in the Men's Laser fleet, Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) earned the Silver in the Women's 49erFX class, and Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won the Gold in the Nacra 17 event.

The Pan Am Games wrapped up just a few days ago, on August 12, 2019. At which point, Roble, Shea, Gibbs, and Weis also secured country berths for U.S. representation at the Tokyo 2020 Games, in their respective classes. While the athletes are excited by their accomplishments, their celebrations were brief as their focus is already set on this week's event.

"We're excited to have accomplished this important goal for the team," said Shea. "Our focus is now on performing well at the Test Event. We're hoping to learn as much as possible about the Olympic venue before shifting our focus to solely the U.S. Olympic Trials."

Because this event limits the number of entrants allocated to each country, it will simulate the Olympic regatta much more closely than an event like the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima which begins on the 25th. Of the 2015 Rio Test Event medallists, 13 landed on the podium at the 2016 Games. US Sailing Team athletes will be looking to put their best foot forward this week, in hopes to set the tone for the remaining year of the quadrennium.

Racing is scheduled to begin on Saturday, August 17. The 49er, 49erFX, Nacra and RS:X fleets will conclude racing on 21 August with the 470s, Laser, Laser Radial and Finns following on 22 August.

Event website: tokyo2020.org/en/special/readysteadytokyo/sailing