US Team forming for Paris 2024 Olympics

The 2024 US Olympic Team Trials for the Men’s Kiteboard, Men’s Skiff, Mixed Two Person Dinghy, Men’s Windsurfing, and Women’s Windsurfing were held January 6-13 in Miami, FL.

After eight days of competition, US Sailing declared winners in these five Olympic sailing disciplines. Having already secured country qualification in 2023, Women’s iQFOiL athlete Dominique Stater and 49er team Ian Barrows and Hans Henken are fully confirmed to represent Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Stu McNay and Lara Dallman-Weiss in the Mixed 470, Noah Lyons in the Men’s iQFOiL, and Markus Edegran in the Men’s Formula Kite completed the first of their two-part process to get to Marseille and will now work to qualify the USA for spots in their respective classes.

Competitors were tested with a wide range of conditions on two course areas – one on the Atlantic Ocean off South Beach and the other in Biscayne Bay. At the beginning of the event, a front tested the athletes’ skills in big wind and waves. As the clouds cleared near the end, breeze moderated to classic Miami conditions.

The top three 49er teams battled for the lead in the 21-race series, with everything coming down to the final day. Ian Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) and Hans Henken (Coronado, CA) took the win over Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, NY) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, FL) by three points. Nevin Snow (San Diego, CA) and Mac Agnese (Fort Lauderdale, FL) came in third with an impressive final day, winning two of the last three races.

“It could have been anyone’s regatta any day, so we’re really honored to have won in the end,” said Barrows. “We can all take credit as a group for what will hopefully be a good Olympic result in the 49er for the US.”

Henken added, “It’s a huge relief to be able to say that we’re going to go represent the United States at the Olympic Games. We’ve been working towards this for a very long time and to be able to accomplish this is huge for us.”

In the Women’s iQFOiL, overall winner Dominique Stater (Miami, FL) built momentum over the course of the regatta, eventually pulling ahead to secure her win on points before the final two races. Ultimately, she won 14 of the 27 races sailed in the Women’s iQFOiL fleet.

“I had some great battles with the fleet and I’m very relieved that it’s over and that the path is cleared to Paris,” said Stater. “It was awesome to do the Trials at Miami Yacht Club because I used to come sail with the boys here on Techno 293s all those years ago.

“I’d go out to Miramar across the bridge with the Nores brothers (runner up in the Men’s iQFOiL) and the Cramers, and I’ve known Florencia, Miami Yacht Club’s Youth Sailing Manager, all through childhood, so it was great to have her here.”

Though McNay (Providence, RI) and Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, MN) led the 470 event throughout the regatta, they didn’t clinch the win and their athlete selection until the final day. The team was on high alert, with the competition hot on their heels all eight days. Louisa Nordstrom (Sarasota, FL) and Trevor Bornarth (Port Salerno, FL) finished close behind in second by one point, followed by Carmen Cowles (Larchmont, NY) and Dave Hughes (Miami, FL) in third.

If they qualify the country, this will be a return trip to the Olympics for both McNay and Dallman-Weiss. McNay is a four-time Olympian (Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo), while Dallman-Weiss made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

McNay and Dallman-Weiss will look to fully secure their ticket to Paris by qualifying the USA at the 2024 470 World Championship on February 24-March 3 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

First and second place Men’s iQFOiL riders Noah Lyons (Clearwater, FL) and Geronimo Nores (Miami, FL) traded the lead up until the last day of racing. It all came down to the final race where Lyons was able to pull ahead, clinching first place overall by one point.

Nores took second, while Alex Temko (Clearwater, FL) came third. With his win, Lyons will receive US Sailing’s nomination for Team USA and will now work to qualify the USA at the Last Chance Regatta on April 20-27 in Hyères, France.

Markus Edegran (Stuart, FL) led the Men’s Formula Kite class, finishing first with 35 points, having held the lead for the majority of the event. Kai Calder (Delray Beach, FL) ended in second place with 45 points, trailed closely by Noah Runciman (Houston, TX) in third place with 48 points. Edegran achieves individual athlete selection and will have one more chance to qualify the country at the Last Chance Regatta on April 20-27 in Hyères, France.

For more information regarding the country qualification system, click here.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Trials winners left to right: Ian Barrows & Hans Henken (49er), Dominique Stater (Women’s iQFOiL), Noah Lyons (Men’s iQFOiL), Markus Edegran (Men’s Formula Kite), Stu McNay & Lara Dallman-Weiss (Mixed 470)

The US Olympic Team Trials for the Men’s and Women’s One Person Dinghy are on February 17-24.

Background:
There are ten Olympic Sailing events, and the only American to have already fulfilled both country and athlete selection is Daniela Moroz in the Women’s Kiteboard event. The Nacra 17 and 49erFX will advance their representative based on the results of upcoming regattas.

The Trials events happening in January and February in Miami serve as the “athlete selection” for those classes. The athletes that win these regattas in the classes that have already earned country qualification will immediately earn their ticket to represent Team USA in Marseille this summer.

Athletes in classes that do not yet have country qualification will reserve their selection but will still need to work together to qualify the country to complete the second of their two-part process.

Which classes fall into which category at the Trials?

• Winners of these classes will earn their spot at Paris 2024: 49er, Women’s iQFOiL, ILCA 6
• Winners of these classes still require a USA country qualification to confirm participation at the Paris Games: Mixed 470, Men’s Formula Kite, Men’s iQFOiL, ILCA 7

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 28-August 9

Details:
• Paris website: https://www.paris2024.org/en/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/
• World Sailing microsite: https://paris2024.sailing.org/

Source: US Sailing