US Sailing Team at Paris 2024 Olympics - Back in the Breeze, Lyons, Barrows, and Henken Shine
by US Sailing Team 30 Jul 2024 12:29 PDT
July 28 - August 8, 2024
Mens Skiff fleet (49er) - Marseille - Paris2024 Olympic Regatta - July 30, 2024 © World Sailing / Sander van der Borch
A welcomed change of pace greeted sailors on the Bay of Marseille for day three of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Unlike the previous days of competition, sailors hit the water without delays and were treated to winds in the mid to high teens.
Men's Windsurfer athlete Noah Lyons (Clearwater, FL) took full advantage of the fresh breeze, winning the day's first race and setting a positive tone for the remainder of the day.
Lyons had the best start of the fleet on the slalom style course by starting at the pin at full speed and was able to run away with the race, staying ahead of Brazil's Mateo Isaac in second and Poland's Pawel Tarnowski in third.
He continued to post low numbers, even as the race committee moved from Slalom to Course racing, closing the day out with a third place and landing in 4th overall. "Today was windy and exciting - I couldn't ask for much more," said Lyons. "My goal was to avoid any deep scores or letters, and I achieved that. I was happy I was able to hold my results." The Men's iQFOiL will continue racing tomorrow, with five races scheduled to make up for the scrapped day one.
Lyons volleyed some good energy over to the Men's Skiffs (49ers) as they took the stage in 15 knots of breeze. Ian Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) and Hans Henken (San Francisco, CA) started their day with a 10th place and improved from there. As they adjusted to the new breeze, the pair scored a 7 in race eight, and wrapped up their day with a 3rd place - their highest finish in the event so far.
"We were consistent and ended on a good note, so we're happy with a solid performance on a tricky day across the fleet," said Barrows. "We're definitely happy to be back in the wind - it feels good to stretch out the quads and hike out." Barrows and Henken will enter day four of competition in 5th, just seven points away from 3rd.
Team USA's Stephanie Roble (East Troy, WI) and Maggie Shea (Chicago, IL) had a challenging day, scoring in the mid teens. The entire Women's Skiff fleet saw shakeups in the standings today, with the additional breeze changing the game.
"We weren't in our mojo today," said Shea. "But we have another full day of racing ahead and we're staying focused on the next race right in front of us. Everyone in the fleet has had a bad race here and there in their scores, it's just one of those kinds of regattas. We're moving forward and looking ahead to a fresh day tomorrow."
Dominique Stater (Miami, FL) in the Women's Windsurfer added 5 more races to her scoresheet, with a regatta-best finish of 6th place in race four. Stater has two more days of regular series racing before the medal series on August 2nd.
Skiffs and Windsurfers will continue on for day four tomorrow as they near medal races on Thursday, August 1st for the Skiffs and Friday, August 2nd for the Windsurfing Medal Series. Viewers back home can catch the action on NBC's Peacock with archived reruns to follow.