USA qualifies for Tokyo 2020 Games in two more classes
by US Sailing Team 29 Sep 2019 10:23 EST
US Sailing Team Men's RS:X athlete, Pedro Pascual © US Sailing Team
On Saturday, September 28, the 2019 RS:X World Championships concluded, delivering the next round of countries qualified for a berth at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Because there are more countries competing in the RS:X class than available spots on the Olympic starting line, countries must qualify for the games before athlete trials can be decided. A total of eight berths in the Men's class and nine in the Women's class were up for grabs this week. Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.) secured the sixth country spot in the Men's class and Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) secured the eighth spot in the Women's class.
Hall is grateful to have qualified the country at this stage, "I'm happy and relieved that I qualified the country here. It was one of my major objectives for the year.," she said. "This is also great news for the girls competing at the North American continental qualifier in Miami this winter. It removes some of the pressure for them and we can get more North American teams at the Games."
At the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami, the top North American country that has not already qualified will earn a berth to the Tokyo 2020 Games. Qualifying the U.S. here means that another North American nation will qualify in Miami.
Hall continued, "I'm looking forward to a good winter of training and coaching some youth athletes. I'm on a good path to progression and am expecting good results in Miami and at the Worlds in New Zealand next year."
The U.S. had a total of four athletes competing at the event. Pedro Pascual and Geronimo Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.) represented the country in the Men's RS:X class, and Farrah Hall and Carolina Mendelblatt (Miami, Fla.) competed in the Women's class.
Final Standings - U.S. Competitors at 2019 RS:X World Championships
Men's RS:X
- Pedro Pascual - 42nd
- Geronimo Nores - 50th
Women's RS:X
- Farrah Hall - 56th
- Carolina Mendelblatt - 90th
Pascual and Hall finished as the top Americans in each fleet, and as a result, will lead the U.S. athlete trials in each class. Hall finished 34 places ahead of Mendelblatt and will lead the Women's trials by that many points. Pascual finished eight places ahead of Nores, establishing a comfortable, but not insurmountable, lead over him in the Men's class.
U.S. Athlete selection will be decided at the 2020 RS:X World Championships from February 23-29, 2020 in Takapuna, NZL. There, Hall will likely clinch her spot on the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, and Pascual will look to do the same.
Learn more about the 2019 RS:X World Championships.