Formula kite surfing is one of the 10 classes of sailing competition at this summer’s Games. Photo courtesy International Kiteboarding Association.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are set to begin this month
After four years of preparation, qualifying regattas, and American trials, the US Sailing Team is anxiously awaiting the first race of the 2024 Olympic Games. The sailing competition will take place in Marseilles, France, about 400 miles south of Paris on the Mediterranean Sea.
Historically, the USA has done well in sailing. During one impressive stretch between 1984 and 1992 the US Sailing Team won 21 Medals in 24 classes. However, since London in 2012 American sailors have earned one Bronze Medal in the past three Games. The question for this Games is how will the USA fair against a formidable roster of sailors from around the World?
Qualifying among the representative countries to compete in one of the ten Olympic classes is a tall order. USA sailors did make the cut in nine of the ten classes for these Games. The only class that missed was the ILCA 7. This boat was formerly known as the Laser, a nifty single-handed dinghy that made its Olympic debut in 1996.
The USA does have a chance to earn medals in a handful of classes. The days of any country dominating across the board are long over. Parity in Olympic sailing has leveled the playing field. There are several factors including coaches switching countries after each Olympics, one-design boats available to all sailors, and adequate funding (The USA does not have any governmental funding like many other countries). A total of 30 medals will be presented to the ten classes. At this writing, I am willing to bet that at least fifteen countries will win at least one medal. Interestingly, only three countries were able to qualify in all ten classes: the French get an automatic entry in every class since they are the host country (this rule will be helpful to the USA when the Games are held in Long Beach, California, in 2028). Germany and Great Britain are the other countries that qualified in all ten classes.
On an encouraging note, Paris 2024 is the first time in Olympic history that there is equal gender participation in the Games with 175 male and 175 female athletes competing and an equal number of medals available to both men and women. Two classes (Nacra 17 and 470) feature mixed crews with one man and one woman on a boat. Either sailor can skipper. Stu McNay will skipper the 470 and Sarah Newberry Moore will steer the Nacra 17 for USA.
The sailing conditions off the Marseilles coast are excellent. A summer thermal breeze fills in late in the morning. Occasionally a strong wind known as the Mistral will come out of the mountains and blow exceptionally hard. The racing takes place from July 28 through August 8, so there is a good chance the sailors will experience a wide range of wind conditions. The French have renovated a worthy facility for the Games known as Roucas Blanc Marina. Spectators will be able to watch from the shore and on the water. Tickets for the Games in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 were sold out. Sailing is a popular sport in France, and I expect sell-out crowds on every race day.
My role for this Olympics is serving as a commentator for NBC. My platform will be in Stamford, Connecticut, along with 2,000 or so other television production people. We will take in the live television feed from the Olympic Broadcast Service. Sailing will appear on a Peacock streaming service. You can watch the races live, which will be in the morning. Soon after the completion of each day’s racing viewers will be able to watch the races on replay. The general plan is to cover at least two races each day. The races take about 40 minutes for most of the classes. The top ten finishers advance to a Medal Race where the points are worth double. The early race scores are carried over. The Medal Races are short and take about 20 minutes.
At the beginning of any competition the score is tied at zero points. At that moment, every sailor has high hopes that they will prevail. The normal wind conditions off Marseilles are nice with moderate winds and minimal current and wind shifts. But there is an old adage at big regattas that is heard often, “The wind is normally like this.” No one knows what might happen, but a helpful attitude is to ‘expect the unexpected.’
The US Sailing Team has suffered through turmoil over the past year when the team’s leader, Paul Cayard, abruptly left the program in February 2023. US Sailing spent one year searching for a replacement. Marcus Lynch from Great Britain was retained as the High-Performance Director and veteran Olympian Sally Barkow is the Head of Operations for the US Olympic Sailing Team. A few Annapolis sailors tried to qualify for the Games, most notably, twin brothers Ford and Marshall McCann and Leo Boucher in the ILCA 7 class. All three will be working to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Marseilles, France, will host the sailing competition in the 2024 Olympic Games. The rendering (top image) depicts what the Marseilles Marina will look like during the Games.
America’s top prospect for a medal is Daniela Moroz. She has won the Kite Board World Championship six times and is currently ranked number one in the World in the Women’s Kite. Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea are ranked number two in the world in the Women’s 49erFX skiff class. Ian Barrows and Hans Henken from San Francisco will represent the USA in the Men’s 49er skiff. They have a good chance of qualifying for the Medal Race. Stu McNay, from Providence, Rhode Island, is sailing in his fourth Olympics in the 470 Class with Lara Dallman-Weiss. They also have a realistic chance of making the Medal Race although they are ranked 21st in the World going into the Games. Experience should be an asset for this crew. Noah Lyons has been performing well in the past several months in the IQFoil windsurfer class and has a good chance of reaching the Medal Race.
United States Sailing Team Competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Men’s skiff – 49er: Ian Barrows, U.S. Virgin Islands and Hans Henken, Lafayette, Ca.
Women’s skiff – 49erFX: Stephanie Roble, East Troy, N.Y., and Maggie Shea, Wilmette, Il.
Kiteboarding – Women’s Formula Kite: Daniela Moroz, San Francisco, Ca.
Kiteboarding – Men’s Formula Kite: Markus Edegran, West Palm Beach, Fl.
One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6: Erica Reineke, Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
Windsurfing – Men’s IQFoil: Noah Lyons, Clearwater, Fl.
Windsurfing – Women’s IQFoil: Dominique Stater, Miami, Fl.
Two Person Dinghy – Mixed 470: Stu McNay, Providence, R.I., and Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, Minnesota.
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17: Sarah Newberry Moore, Miami, Fl., and David Liebenberg, Richmond, Ca.
