How to win the U.S. Olympic Trials

US Sailing, as the National Governing Body for the sport of sailing, is responsible for declaring a system to select its Olympic representatives. The selection system is revised for each Olympics, with a significant shift occurring for Paris 2024.

Rather than using the results in elite competitions to determine the best candidate, seven of the ten Olympic events will have a ‘winner-take-all’ regatta held in the USA and only for athletes eligible to represent the nation at the Olympic Games.

While there are some requisites to compete in the US Trials, they don’t require a bucket of gold and are an epic opportunity to punch your ticket to the Olympics. To fulfill that dream, longtime Olympic coach Luther Carpenter provides this report on how to do it:

The most recent domestic Olympic Trials was held in 2008, so as a historian and a voice of experience, I thought I’d share what an Olympic Trials is like, hoping to provide you with a roadmap and understanding of how to prepare for and compete in it. I realize that everyone can’t win, but this IS the regatta that most sailors target winning as their primary goal. – Full report

Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Program*:
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7 (41)
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6 (41)
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470 (19)
Men’s Skiff – 49er (20)
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX (20)
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class (20)
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class (20)
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFoil (24)
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFoil (24)
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 (19)
* Quota per event in parenthesis but does not include Universality Places (2 men, 2 women)

Venue: Marseille, France
Dates: July 26-August 11

Details: https://www.paris2024.org/en/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/