Haeger and Provancha defend their position at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères.

Hyères, France (April 24, 2015) – With three days of racing complete at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères, the talented assembly of international Olympic hopefuls have one day left to compete for spots in Sunday’s medal races. Light air returned to World Cup racecourses on Friday in France, and the US Sailing Team Sperry is now in the top ten in three classes, and just outside that marker in two more.

Medal Race Broadcast Alert: Sunday’s medal races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères will be broadcast live in the United States online via ESPN3 and in Europe on Youtube by ISAF and Sunset+Vine|APP, the multi-award winning UK sports media company. The broadcast will begin at 5:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 26th. Click here for ESPN3 broadcast schedule.

Entering Day Two in 2nd overall in the Women’s 470 fleet, Annie Haeger (East Troy, WI) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, CA) defended their position on a day when there was much reshuffling at the top of the standings. Haeger and Provancha now sit one point out of first with two races to go until the medal race on Sunday.

“Today was very light, and it wasn’t so much about speed today as it was about tactics,” said Haeger. “The breeze was doing different things every leg, which kept racing exciting.” Provancha noted that it was satisfying to race well in conditions that are not usually their strength as a team. “We always prefer that it’s windy enough for the O flag to be raised (indicating that pumping of sails for added speed is allowed) since we’ve been strong racing in bigger breeze. But that’s why we try to train in all conditions.”

The second American 470 in the women’s fleet, comprised of Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, CA) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, CA), had their best day yet with scores of 5,13, vaulting them to 13th overall from the twenties and giving them a chance to make the medal race on Sunday.

“Our strategy was to stay away from other boats in the light conditions, and find new pressure early,” said Bolger, who was highly placed in multiple races that were called off partway through on breeze-challenged Day One of racing. “We feel like we are sailing better than what our scoreline currently shows, but in the end we are just focused on sailing well tomorrow.”

World Champion and US Olympian Paige Railey (Clearwater, FL) made a significant jump on Friday, with a consistent 5,4 scoreline moving her up to 7th overall. Railey is now just 11 points shy of podium position with two full-fleet races and (if qualified) a medal race yet to go. “I’m just taking one day at a time, and learning as much as I can,”said Railey.

In the Laser, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, CA) had his best day yet with a 8,14 and is now in 12th overall, just 3 points out of medal race position. Buckingham, who in 2014 achieved the best result by an American at the Laser World Championships in a decade (7th overall), is focused on finishing strong against the full fleet.

“I’m going to work on my starts tomorrow. I was in sync today in terms of tactics but struggled getting off the line.” Buckingham also noted that tight racing like this is part of what draws him to the Olympic scene. “Sailing against the forty best guys in the world is as good as it gets in terms of competition. Every decision counts, and mistakes are costly. It is a great personal test.”

Men’s 470 sailors Stu McNay and Dave Hughes began the day in the strong 6th overall, but two mid-fleet finishes dropped them to 14th. The veteran pair will have to close an 11 point gap tomorrow to qualify for the medal race.

The opening Finn class race on Friday was won by Caleb Paine (San Diego, CA), who now sits just four points from bronze medal position despite being five places away. The tightly packed upper end of the leaderboard is an indication of a deep talent pool in the Finn class. Paine finished 5th overall in Hyères a year ago, and has an excellent chance to improve on that result over the final two days of racing.

470 Women:

2nd overall, Annie Haeger (East Troy, WI) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, CA)
13th overall Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, CA) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, CA)

Laser Radial Women

7th overall, Paige Railey (Clearwater, FL)

Finn Heavyweight Men:

8th overall, Caleb Paine (San Diego, CA)

2.4mR Paralympic (Open):

10th overall, Dee Smith (Annapolis, MD)

Laser Men:

12th overall, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, CA

470 Men:

14th overall, Stu McNay (Providence, RI) and Dave Hughes (San Diego, CA)

49erFX Women:

21st, Paris Henken (Coronado, CA) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, WA)

49er Men:

21st, Brad Funk (Miami, FL) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, MA)

Nacra 17 Mixed:

23rd Sarah Newberry (Miami, FL) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, FL)

Event Website
Full Results

Report from US Sailing

About the US Sailing Team Sperry
The US Sailing Team Sperry is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team Sperry. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry; other sponsors include Gold-Level partner Sunbrella and Silver-Level partners Harken, Team McLube and Groupe Beneteau. Yale Cordage is a team supplier. The US Sailing Center Miami is an Olympic training site. Oakcliff Sailing and Clearwater Community Sailing Center are US Sailing Team Sperry Training Centers. Chubb Personal Insurance sponsors US Sailing’s National Team Tour, a nationwide presentation program for US Sailing Team Sperry athletes. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics

The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org