Strong moments on the water for USA with 50 top-five race finishes at Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca
by US Sailing Team 12 Apr 2023 00:42 BST
52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca © Sailing Energy / Princesa Sofía Mallorca 04 April, 2023
The 52nd edition of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca is in the books after a week of strong showings by American athletes on the Bay of Palma that also brought to light the areas each fleet plans to focus on for the international season.
Final results of Medal Race qualifiers:
- Daniela Moroz 4th in Medal Race, 4th Overall
- Stu McNay and Lara Dallman-Weiss 7th in 470 Medal Race, 8th Overall
- Steph Roble and Maggie Shea 5th in 49er FX Medal Race, 5th Overall
Full results here
Right out of the gate, the US Sailing Team took race wins in two 49er fleets and a 470 fleet. Ian Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif) won race one in the 49er blue fleet, Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, NY) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, FL) won race one in the 49er red fleet, and Louisa Nordstrom (Sarasota, FL) and Trevor Bornarth (Port Salerno, FL) won race one in the 470 blue fleet. US Sailing Team's Charlotte Rose (Houston, TX) had her strongest opening day in a World Cup regatta with a 3, 2, 1 scoreline and went on to win the Qualifying Series, putting her in first place entering ILCA 6 Gold Fleet for the Finals.
"I had a pretty open mind coming into this event after winter training because there hasn't been a big international event like this since the World Championship last fall," said Moroz after finishing off the podium for the first time in her career. "This was an Olympic Trials event for a lot of people, including my main competitors [the British and the French who finished first, second, and third] so they came into this event looking to perform. I'm glad this happened early in the year, and I know what I have to do going forward to get back to my winning ways."
Moroz's main events on the horizon are the 2023 Olympic Test Event where she has the opportunity to qualify herself early for the Team USA nomination at Paris 2024 if she lands on the podium, and the 2023 World Championships where she intends to qualify the United States for Paris 2024 in the Women's Formula Kite discipline.
"This was our first international regatta as a team and it was great to come together with the global fleet," said Lara Dallman-Weiss (Tokyo 2020 Women's 470 Olympian), newly paired with four-time Men's 470 Olympian, Stu McNay. "We had great conditions- a little light at times- but all in all beautiful sailing and a great setting for Stu and I to work together and see where we stand on the world stage."
Stu McNay is no stranger to the 470 with four Olympic Games under his belt; twice with teammate Graham Biehl and twice with Dave Hughes. Now a mixed discipline, McNay is partnered with Lara Dallman-Weiss and is enjoying the process of collaborating with a new teammate. "It's going great, and it's been fun to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses," said McNay. "It changes how the boat feels when you change teammates, and you have to problem solve what works best for the two of you. Already, that's been an interesting process and has brought forth some sailing styles for me that I haven't used in the past in a really great way."
"This week was all about speed, patience, and playing the long game," said Maggie Shea after finishing the regatta in 5th with teammate Steph Roble. "Racing was tight, and we identified lot of areas to improve this spring. But overall, we're happy with a solid finish and are excited for more racing in Hyères, France later this month."
The majority of USA competitors at the Princesa Sofía will return to the World Cup stage in Hyères, France for French Olympic Week set to take place April 22-29. The pair of regattas is a popular combination because of the proximity in both location and timing, and the US Sailing Team is looking forward to a quick turnaround and the opportunity to spar with the international fleets.