The Rio 2016 U.S. Paralympic Sailing
Team was comprised of six sailors hailing from six different U.S.
States. Each athlete qualified for the team based on the results of US Sailing’s Rio 2016 Athlete Selection Series. The Games of the XV Paralympiad took
place from September 7-18, 2016, and the sailing events were based at
Marina da Gloria on Rio de Janeiro’s harbor front. The Paralympic Games
featured approximately 4,300 athletes from 161 countries competing in 22
sports. The sailing events included 80 athletes from 23 nations
competing in three classes. Racing was conducted from September 12-17,
2016.
With a victory in the final race of the event, U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team sailors Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) won silver medals
in the Sonar class, the three-person Paralympic keelboat. For all three
sailors it was the first Paralympic medal of their careers.
Gold in the
Sonar was won by the Australian team of Colin Harrison, Russell
Boaden and Jonathan Harris. Bronze was secured by Paul Tingley, Logan
Campbell and Scott Lutes of Canada. Several teams were in the running
for the podium coming into the 6th and final day of the sailing events
of Rio 2016, but Team USA saved their best race for last to
win silver in dramatic fashion.
“Rick, Brad, and Hugh sailed a great series and earned their silver
medal today by racing smart and fast in the final race, on a difficult
course and under pressure,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S.
Olympic Sailing, who served as Team Leader for the Rio 2016 Paralympic
Games. “They’ve worked incredibly hard as a team over the years and
deserve this result.
Doerr, Kendell and Freund entered Rio 2016 as the reigning Para
Sailing World Champions and had high hopes for a podium performance.
Doerr, the helmsman, is the longest-tenured athlete on the U.S.
Sailing Team, having campaigned for the Paralympic Games almost
continuously since 1998. Rio 2016 was his second Paralympic appearance
following an 8th place performance in Beijing 2008 with different
teammates. For Kendell and Freund, Rio 2016 is their first career
appearance at the Games.
“We came into today in a similar position as we had at the World
Championship earlier this year, with everything to play for on the final
day,” said Freund on the dock. “We really sailed the way the three of
us know how to sail this boat.”
Kendell said that it was hard to put into words what this means for
the three tight-knit athletes. “2016 has been unbelievable, and this is
the year we’ve worked so hard for. Coming in as World Champions, you
don’t want to let it get inside your head, but you know at least that
you have a chance to medal.”
The team also paid tribute to their coach, Mike Ingham (Rochester,
N.Y.) who worked intensively with Doerr, Kendell and Freund for the
final two year years of the Rio 2016 quadrennium. “We had talent on our
team, but Mike figured out how to make it all work,” said Freund. “If
you look at our trajectory, it’s a huge testament to his ability as a
coach to get the most out of people.” Ingham holds over 20 U.S. national
and North American one-design sailing titles, and helped Doerr, Kendell
and Freund win their first world championship as a team.
In the 2.4mR, Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.) finished
his regatta strong with a 1,5,6 in the final races, but in the end
finished just off the podium in 4th overall. “I sailed OK today, and I
did everything I wanted to do on the racecourse. I just got caught in
traffic,” said Smith, a cancer survivor, on the dock after the final
race. Smith is a veteran of the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Maxi
competition and many other high-level racing programs over the course of
his professional sailing career, but Rio 2016 was his first Paralympic
Games appearance.
“I don’t remember sailing against better competition,
anywhere,” said Smith. “The effort I put into this campaign is as strong
as I’ve done for anything in my career, and the people I sailed against
were just exceptionally good.” Smith was coached in Rio by Brazilian
native Maru Urban (Salvador, Brazil).
(www.ussailing.org)
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