Reineke's Medal Race Postponed; One Day Closer to Kite Medal Series
by US Sailing Team 7 Aug 2024 07:07 AEST
July 28 - August 8, 2024
Markus Edegran (Ossining, NY) rounds the mark on day three of the Men's Kite event at the Paris 2024 Olympics © Sailing Energy / US Sailing
Day ten of competition started in an all-too familiar fashion in Marseille with a wilting seven knots which is just on the cusp of sailable conditions for the Kiteboards.
Erika Reineke's Women's Dinghy (ILCA 6) Medal Race was postponed to August 7, the USA Mixed Multihull and Mixed Dinghy teams ended their regattas, and the Kites made progress toward qualification for their Medal Series set to take place August 8.
The Kites managed to get racing in during the day's best breeze, with the men taking the field first. Edegran had some of the best starts in the fleet which led him to two third place finishes in today's two races. Solid starts positioned him nicely around the top marks and into the downwind parade of minimal lead changes - "which is what you want if you're in front," he noted. Edegran will enter tomorrow's final day of regular racing in 9th overall, working to stay in the top ten to qualify for the Kite Medal Series on August 8.
"Today was all about going left on the course, so I knew I had to get to the pin and get involved," said Edegran. "The pin was super competitive but I fought for it and got off the line clean both times."
"It was frustrating to only get one race in but that's how it goes sometimes," said Moroz about the Women's Kite racing. "I'm in the mix in a good spot and excited for the final day of opening series racing tomorrow. We have a better forecast coming up and could have a lot of racing, so I'm keeping my head in the game and taking it race by race."
Moroz is in third overall and is also looking to keep her spot in the top ten to advance to the Medal Series on August 8.
While the Women's Dinghy left the beach with the intention to race on time, the wind had other plans. The fleet drifted for two hours before the race committee officially called racing for the day due to insufficient breeze.
Today spelled the end of the Olympic regatta for US teams in two classes, the Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17) and Mixed Dinghy (470). After another light air day of sailing, both teams missed the cutoff for the top ten to be able to advance to tomorrow's medal race.
Stu McNay (Providence, RI) finished his fifth Olympics with partner Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, MN) in 13th overall after scoring an 18, 22 during today's racing.
"It was a tough day out there, we got some good starts but weren't able to pull it together," said McNay. "It's the end of our condensed campaign, we had a good year and a half run and are psyched to have made it to the Games. We had greater hopes in terms of our result - on a personal level we both feel we could have performed a little bit better."
Besides his accomplishment of participation at five Olympic Games, McNay, whose role on the search committee for the high-performance Director that ultimately led to the selection of Marcus Lynch, has made a significant contribution to the future success of the US Sailing Team.
"That's how it goes in the life we lead, you pour your heart out for the campaign...it's certainly emotional," said Dallman-Weiss. "I'm proud of what we put together. I know we'll end on a high and grateful note, but that doesn't make it any less difficult in the moment. We're so grateful to our community of friends and family and supporters that have been our village for the last year and a half as we prepared to represent the US on Olympic waters once again."
Sarah Newberry Moore (Miami, FL) and David Liebenberg (Richmond, CA) concluded their first Olympics in 16th overall. They got the day off with a good start finishing race 10 in third, their highest finish of the regatta.
"It was nice to end on a high note with a 3rd place on our last day," said Newberry Moore. "We put a couple more puzzle pieces together and experienced the potential we know we have. It's a special way to end the event as this is the last regatta for us as a team. We are proud and grateful to be a part of the Olympic Team this year and to be able to represent the US on the world stage, and it's nice to culminate our long relationship as partners here at the Games. We can't wait to see what other Olympic and non-Olympic adventures the future holds."
"We started sailing together at the beginning of 2018 so it's been a long journey," added Liebenberg. "And it wouldn't be possible without the countless individuals and organizations who supported our goal of being here at the Olympics. To represent the USA at the highest level of sailing in a challenging and rewarding boat we both love is something we're so proud of."
Newberry Moore and Liebenberg wrapped their Olympic journey with a 16th overall finish at their first Olympic Games for Team USA.
Viewers back home can catch the action on NBC's Peacock with archived reruns to follow. For more information on the 13 Team USA athletes competing in the sailing events, on the racing schedule, the broadcast coverage and more, see US Sailing’s Olympics Page.