Tokyo 2020: US Team updates selection

The US Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) has voted that participation at the 2020 Finn and 470 World Championships, which had been postponed and tentatively planned for October 2-10 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, is not in the best interest of U.S. athletes.

Upon review of current State Department and Travel Advisories and at the recommendation of US Sailing’s Selection Committee, the OSC determined that these regattas will not be used as the third 2020 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team selection event for the Women’s 470 or Finn classes.

The next qualification opportunity for the Women’s 470 class is the 2021 World Championship, scheduled for March 5-13 in Vilamoura, Portugal. US selection in this event is tight as three teams are within three points of each, with each team’s result in the 2021 Worlds added to the score to select the Tokyo representative.

Finn selection has concluded based on the results of the first two selection events: the 2019 World Championship and 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami.

The conclusion of the Finn selection process advances Luke Muller as the US representative. Muller was leading 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Caleb Paine by 6 points going into the cancelled 2020 Worlds on May 8-16, but Paine has since decided to end his Olympic campaign.

US Sailing’s Selection Procedures outline multiple reasons why travel to an event’s host country may not be in the athletes’ best interest. Among those are the ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions and advisories.

According to Joe Morris (Annapolis, MD), Selection Committee member and Athlete Advisory Council Representative, “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a great deal of uncertainty and risk associated with international travel. Beyond the obvious health and safety hazards, this lack of certainty also inhibits the sailors’ preparations for the Championships. Therefore, we feel it is not in their best interest to compete at these events.”

“As a team, we are confident with our process in place to continue training and preparations, while looking ahead to important events in 2021 with Olympic Qualification implications for the Women’s 470,” said Luther Carpenter, US Sailing Team Head Coach. “Our athletes are focused on their specific goals and are making progress towards those on a daily basis. We are optimistic about our opportunities to train and compete with the best sailors in the world and we will be prepared to adapt to the changes in the 2020-2021 schedule and in our sailing environment.”

For information regarding the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials and US Sailing’s Selection Procedures, click here.

Source: US Sailing

Tokyo Olympic Sailing Program
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFx
Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy – Finn
Men’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Women’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Original dates: July 24 to August 9, 2020
Revised dates: July 23 to August 8, 2021

Details: https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/schedule/olympic/