Lessons for Los Angeles 2028

Ford McCann had won the USA Trials in his event, Men’s One Person Dinghy (ILCA 7), but still needed to be among the top three nations at the final qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics. That didn’t happen, with the Olympic tickets given to South Korea, Estonia, and Malaysia. What happened?

“This week delivered a wide range of conditions and I believe each of us had our time to shine,” said USST athlete Ford McCann, referencing training partners Marshall McCann and Leo Boucher. “After a slow start to the regatta, the pressure was on to keep in touch with the leaders and I was able to log a few great starts and land some top results.

“Unfortunately, a few uncontrollable moments and a few risky calls were enough to weigh down my scoreline. Looking back, I believe I’m at my top form and that with a little more experience and a couple more championships under my belt that I would have been right in the Olympic mix. We never took time or resources for granted in this short campaign, and I’m grateful for the wisdom shared from veterans of the sailing world as we look to Los Angeles.”

As for Charlotte Rose, she came up short in the USA Trials, but wasn’t ready to close out the Paris 2024 quad so she was with McCann at the 55th French Olympic Week on April 21-27, and took home her first World Cup win of her career in the ILCA 6.

“I definitely needed a little confidence boost following Trials and this is a really good kickoff for the next quad,” said Rose. “I’m really excited and it’s already right in line with what I’m planning for my LA28 preparation. I have some time off now to be able to create the foundation I want to create to hit the ground running next year. I’m just really happy and proud of this win.”

Canada was also aiming to gain the final qualification entries for Paris 2024, but their representatives fell short in the Men’s iQFOiL, Women’s iQFOiL, Men’s Kiteboard, Men’s ILCA 7, and Mixed Nacra 17. The closest to do so were Galen Richardson and Madeline Gillis who missed out a qualification spot for Canada by just one point in Nacra 17.

“Going into the medal race, we were nine points away from Belgium in 3rd, and three points away from Japan in 4th. Entering the double point medal race, we knew we had to beat Japan with one boat in between us to secure Canada a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,” said Richardson and Gillis.

“Our strategy for the race was to keep it simple and race like we know we can. The medal race was tight and we fell one point short of qualifying our country. It is devastating to be so close. Being one point away from qualifying for the Olympic Games is unbelievably hard to take in. We know that we fought hard for every single point this week and left it all out on the race course.

“We have so much to be proud of, and so much to look forward to. We have both felt every emotion possible this week. We are so fortunate that losing this qualifier is not the end for us, it’s the beginning,” they added. “We want to thank everyone at home for following along, watching, supporting, and rooting for us. We felt the love from Canada and around the world. Although our hearts are broken right now, we know that we will grow stronger from this.

“Our journey towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games begins today.”

Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Program*:
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

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/