Canada's Santiago 2023 sailing team announced

by Sail Canada 20 Sep 2023 17:20 PDT October 28 - November 4, 2023

Sail Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada's sailing team nominated to compete at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

The Team Canada sailing team for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games are:

Athletes:

49er (Men's Skiff)

• Justin Barnes (Pickering, Ont.-RCYC)
• Will Jones (Jerseyville, Ont.-RHYC)

49er FX (Women's Skiff)

• Mariah Millen (Toronto, Ont.-RCYC)
• Ali ten Hove (Kingston, Ont.-KYC)

ILCA 6 (Women's Dinghy)

• Sarah Douglas (Toronto, Ont.-ABYC)

ILCA 7 (Men's Dinghy)

• Fillah Karim (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

iQFoil (Windsurfing - Women)

• Rebecca Heller (Ottawa, Ont.)

Formula Kite (Kiteboarding - Women)

• Emily Bugeja (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

Formula Kite (Kiteboarding - Men)

• Mac Morrin (Kingston, Ont.-KYC)

Nacra 17 (Mixed Multihull)

• Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)
• Galen Richardson (Toronto, Ont.-RCYC)

Sunfish (Men's Dinghy)

• Lee Parkhill (Oakville, Ont.-OYC)

Lightning (Mixed Dinghy)

• Rachel Green (Burlington, Ont.-RHYC)
• Jessica Hirschbold (Victoria, B.C.-RVicYC)
• Luke Ramsay (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

Sarah Douglas, gold medalist in ILCA 6 at Lima 2019, is looking for a different kind of Pan American Games in her second appearance.

"I'm excited to be returning to the Pan American Games," said Douglas. "It's always an honour to represent Canada. At the last one in 2019, I was sick and on bed rest, but still able to win the gold medal. But this time, I'm hoping to be healthy and to truly enjoy the experience."

"Since I've already qualified Canada for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in ILCA 6, I'll have the pressure off in Santiago and use it as an Olympic preparation event since it is a unique multi-sport Games environment."

Douglas made history in her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 where her sixth-place finish in the event then known as Laser Radial was the best ever Olympic result by a Canadian woman in an individual sailing event. She is one of four athletes on the team who won medals at previous Pan American Games.

The other Pan American Games medalists on the team are: Luke Ramsay, two-time silver medalist in Sunfish at Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019; Lee Parkhill, bronze medalist in ILCA 7 at Toronto 2015; and Justin Barnes, bronze medalist in 49er at Lima 2019 with former crewmate Alex Heinzmann.

For Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen, an Olympic spot for Canada in 49er FX will be at stake.

"We are honored to represent Canada at our second Pan American Games together as a team!", said Millen. "This regatta is important as it will be a chance for us to qualify a spot for the country for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next summer."

"It will be a challenging event with such a small fleet of high level boats! We are excited to race and give our best effort to win Canada a medal and an Olympic berth," added ten Hove. "We are especially proud of Mariah's relentless efforts towards recovering from her knee injury to race this event and the amazing support team around us that made this possible!"

For the Olympic classes (which excludes Lightning and Sunfish), the 2023 Pan American Games will be the second of five opportunities for Canadian sailors to qualify spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. At the 2023 Sailing World Championships held in August in The Hague, Netherlands, Sarah Douglas secured Canada an Olympic spot in ILCA 6.

To qualify for Paris 2024 in the remaining Olympic classes at Santiago 2023, Canadian sailors will need to achieve the following:

• iQFOil (M and W), Formula Kiteboarding (M), ILCA 7, 470 and Nacra 17: finish as the best sailor/crew from North America and the Caribbean;
• Formula Kiteboarding (W), 49er and 49erFX: finish as the best sailor/crew from North America and the Caribbean, except the United States which already qualified spots in those events at the 2023 Sailing World Championships.

The full list of North American and Caribbean countries is available at www.sailing.ca/sc_event/2023-pan-american-games.

While the team features several experienced sailors - including Tokyo 2020 Olympians Douglas, ten Hove, Millen and Will Jones -, other team members are taking part in a major Games for the first time. This includes Mac Morrin, who will compete in his first-ever Pan American Games ahead of kiteboarding making its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.

"This will be my first major Games experience and I'm grateful for the opportunity to represent Canada", said Morrin. "These Games are important to me because this is a chance to showcase the sport I love to a bigger audience, especially since kiteboarding will be at the Olympic Games for the first time in Paris, and I also have a shot at qualifying the country for the Olympics next year."

Sailing will take place October 28 to November 4 (Days 8 to 15) at the Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico in Algarrobo.

"Ahoy, sailing team! Welcome to the Pan American Games, where the wind and waves are your allies on this aquatic adventure," said Christine Girard. "As Chef de Mission, I'm thrilled to see your sails billowing with promise and your boats cutting through the water with finesse. May your skills navigate you to success on these Pan American waters, and may your journey lead you closer to the ultimate destination: the Paris Olympics. Fair winds and following seas, sailors!"

Team Canada's sailing coaches and support staff for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games are:

Coaches

• Federico Alonso (Gijon, Spain) - Coach
• Ken Dool (London, ON) - National Performance Coach
• Vaughn Harrison (Aurora, ON) - Coach
• Andrew Lewis (Port Of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) - Coach

Support Staff

• Mike Milner (Peterborough, ON) - High Performance Director
• Alice Sobiesiak (Toronto, ON) - Athletic Therapist

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee's Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.

The latest Team Canada Santiago 2023 roster can be found at olympic.ca/team-canada-roster.