Three American teams qualify for Medal Races at Trofeo Princesa Sofía, first Sailing Grand Slam
by US Sailing Team 8 Apr 11:07 AEST
March 31 - April 5, 2025
54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía © Sailing Energy / Trofeo Princesa Sofía
After six days of racing on the Bay of Palma at the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía, three American teams finished the opening series in the top 10, qualifying for prestigious medal races at the largest Olympic classes regatta of the year.
In the 49erFX fleet, Rio 2016 Olympic duo Paris Henken and Helena Scutt finished 8th overall at their first regatta back together with sights on LA28. In the 49er fleet, Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid finished in 6th at their first regatta as a new pairing, and Andrew Mollerus (USST) and Trevor Bornarth ended in 8th with Bornarth fresh out of the Mixed 470 and now competing in the 49er.
Other standout US moments and performances:
- Noah Lyons posted a picket fence scoreline on the third day of competition in the Men's iQFOiL, winning all four races in the fleet of 55 and propelling him to gold fleet racing in the Finals Series.
- Noah Runciman logged 11 top ten finishes out of 19 races in the Men's Formula Kite fleet and finished his regatta in 13th.
- Makani Andrews made a splash at his first World Cup event on full size Olympic equipment after winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Youth World Championship and qualifying to represent the US at this year's Junior Pan American Games. Andrews qualified for gold fleet at his first Princesa Sofía at just 17 years old.
"USA athletes laid down some fantastic performances through the regatta, showing the potential they have to realize in this LA quad," said US Sailing High Performance Director, Marcus Lynch. "We're early in the cycle, but the level of racing here in Palma gave us a great benchmark and real evidence that this group is on the right trajectory. It was especially encouraging to see so many ODP athletes gaining valuable international experience, learning how to deliver under pressure, and showing they belong on this stage."
A number of new teams competed for the first time in Palma, forming part of a new group of Olympic Development Program athletes with their sights set on future Olympic success. "Our ODP athletes had some great moments around the racecourse at the beginning of the week, and by the end they were piecing it all together and connecting some solid races," noted Olympic Development Director, Rosie Chapman. "You can feel the spirit and motivation throughout the group, and we're excited to get to work in Long Beach this spring and summer to improve on the benchmarks gained in Palma."
Final USA Results:
49er
- 6th - Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid
- 8th - Andrew Mollerus and Trevor Bornarth
- 55th - Jordan Janov and Grant Janov
- 74th - Liam Walz and Abie Griggs
49erFX
- 8th - Paris Henken and Helena Scutt, 2016 Olympians
- 43rd - Maddie Hawkins and Lillian Myers
- 44th - Kelly Cole and Ellie Glenn
- 46th - B Lindsay and GBR Crew
Men's Formula Kite
- 13th - Noah Runciman
- 36th - Adam Keaton
ILCA 6
- 13th - Charlotte Rose
- 81st - Sophia Debs
ILCA 7
- 73rd - Chapman Petersen
- 79th - Daniel Escudero
Men's iQFOiL
- 21st - Noah Lyons, Paris 2024 Olympian
- 40th - Makani Andrews
- 74th - Garrett January
Women's iQFOiL
- 31st - Dominique Stater, Paris 2024 Olympian
Nacra 17
- 26th - Carson Crain and Lindsay Gimple
- 27th - Nicolas Martin and Carolina Zager
Full Results here
This year's 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía is part of the new Sailing Grand Slam series which features five world-class regattas in collaboration with World Sailing to provide high quality annual events in the lead up to Los Angeles 2028. The four remaining events for 2025 are the Semaine Olympique Française (Hyéres, France April 19-26), Kieler Woche (Kiel, Germany June 21-29), Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta (Long Beach, California July 12-20), and Dutch Water Week (Almere, Netherlands September 17-21).
Regattas like the Princesa Sofía are possible thanks to over 1,500 donors across US Sailing who support high performance initiatives, more than 30,000 members, 11 partners, and the many external organizations that contribute to US Sailing Team and Olympic Development Program expenses and directly to athletes including numerous yacht club and regional sailing foundations, athletes' individual donors, and external athlete funders including Windmark and the St. Francis Sailing Foundation. ODP Athletes were also offered travel reimbursements from the Sailing Foundation of New York along with a contribution toward ODP staff travel, and America One shared their forecasts with ODP athletes. US Sailing is grateful for their contribution to the Olympic Development Program.