Training on the 2028 Olympic venue

The third and final stage of the Olympic Classes Regatta has the the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 competing on August 3-8 in the Port of Los Angeles. While podium finishes remain the goal of this week’s racing, one of the ancillary objectives is to walk away with as much information as possible for the 2028 Olympics.

“We are really excited to sail on the Olympic venue,” said Germany’s Jakob Meggendorfer, who competed with crewmate Andreas Spranger in the 49er at the Paris 2024 Games. “We’ve been training here for a week and really like the conditions.”

For American sailors, who hail from all across the host country and train on their own local waters, the regatta is a chance to revisit and re-learn coastal L.A.’s weather patterns, including the famous sea breeze that fills from the Pacific every afternoon.

“We’ve only been out a couple days so far, but it looks pretty good here,” said Andrew Mollerus, who came up sailing on the Long Island Sound and has launched an Olympic campaign in the 49er with crewmate Trevor Bornath. “It’s my first time back in about 10 years, so we’re just trying to figure everything out.”

In the Nacra 17 fleet, Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson have already spent nearly two weeks training ahead of this week’s racing. “We’ve been here since July 20th and it’s been perfect every day,” said Järudd. “Beautiful sailing, good racing, and hopefully some winning to come.”

The Nacra fleet also arrives with an appreciation for the venue’s variable sea state and ocean swell. “We’ve seen a lot of flat water this year, so we like these waves,” Järudd added. “Every venue has its own character.”

Some of that character extends to the surfline where sailors launch from and return to every afternoon. As the competitors share the beach with local marine life, stingrays have become one of the regatta features.

Puerto Rico’s Isabella Calzadilla got stung after stepping into the shallow water near the beach, where rays rest beneath the sand. Race officials have reminded sailors to shuffle their feet while walking in the shallows, allowing the rays to swim away or else risk being struck by a barbed tail.

Despite her injury, Calzadilla still intends to race. “She’s tough,” said her 49erFX crewmate Mercedes Delgado. “It’s going to be uncomfortable because it’s right where the footstrap goes, but she’s really tough.”

Sailors will compete together as a fleet in three races per day for the first five days. Medal races will take place on the sixth and final day, when only the top 10 in each class will compete in a 2-race sail-off Final series for the podium.

Event details – Results

Source: Meredith Glacken

2026 Sailing Grand Slam
March 27-April 4: Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca – Mallorca, Spain
April 18-25: Semaine Olympique Française – Hyères, France
May 30-June 7: Dutch Water Week – Almere, Netherlands
June 20-24: Kieler Woche – Kiel, Germany
Jule 13-August 8: Pre-Olympic Event – Los Angeles and Long Beach, USA*

* Location and dates:
July 13-16, iQFOiL, Formula Kite – Long Beach
July 19-24, ILCA 6, ILCA 7, 470 – Los Angeles
August 3-8, 49er, 4erFX, Nacra 17 – Los Angeles

Details: https://sailinggrandslam.com/

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program:
First Week – July 16-20
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA

Second Week – July 23-28
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7 – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6 – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470 – Los Angeles, CA
Men’s Skiff – 49er – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 – Los Angeles, CA

Dates: July 16-28