Sailing Preview
As the nation with the most Olympic medals in sailing, U.S. expectations are always high heading into an Olympic Games. But the pandemic created unprecedented challenges for a sport that typically involves training and competition around the world. At the conclusion of a nearly five-year process, Team USA will be sending 13 athletes in nine Olympic sailing classes.
At numerous events, including the 2018 and 2019 world championships and the Pan American Games, U.S. athletes had the opportunity to qualify the country for Tokyo 2020. The U.S. qualified for representation in the men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial, men’s 470, women’s 470, men’s Finn, men’s RS:X, women’s RS:X, mixed Nacra 17 and women’s 49erFX. The men’s 49er is the lone Olympic class in which Team USA did not qualify.
Once the country qualified, U.S. Sailing’s selection procedures determined the individual athlete(s) who will compete in that class at Tokyo 2020. Athletes seeking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team had the opportunity to do so at major international events. The U.S. returns Olympians in five of its nine qualified classes. The 13-member U.S. Olympic Sailing Team consists of Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea (women’s 49erFX), Riley Gibbs and Anna Weis (mixed Nacra 17), Olympian Paige Railey (women’s Laser Radial), Luke Muller (men’s Finn), Olympian Charlie Buckingham (men’s Laser), Olympian Farrah Hall (women’s RS:X), Olympian Pedro Pascual (men’s RS:X), Olympians Stu McNay and Dave Hughes (men’s 470) and Nikole Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss (women’s 470).
Olympic sailing will take place at Enoshima, an island approximately 35 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Updated on June 16, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.