News WILEY ROGERS/JACK PARKIN ANNOUNCED TO US SAILING OLYMPIC TEAM

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WILEY ROGERS/JACK PARKIN ANNOUNCED TO US SAILING OLYMPIC TEAM

28
Mar 2017

On 27 March, the 2017 US Sailing Team was announced, including the epic partnership of Wiley Rogers and Jack Parkin.

Rogers and Parkin made a name for themselves in the 420 Class, wrapping up their 420 career with a win at the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships in New Zealand. In the lead-up to that event, the pair had picked up silver at the 2016 420 Worlds and 2015 420 Worlds, and gold at the 2015 420 Junior European Championship. Now this hugely successful partnershp is firmly campaigning in the 470 Class and currently racing at the opening event of the European season, Trofeo Princesa Sofia.

Read the full story courtesy of USA Sailing Team:

US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport, has named 18 Olympic-class athletes to the 2017 US Sailing Team. The national team is selected annually and is comprised of the top sailors competing in the events selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The roster is assembled from a combination of sailors who qualified based on results at World Cup Series Miami 2017, and additional accomplished athletes who receive discretionary selection from the Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing, two-time Olympic Champion Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.). Through the US Sailing Team and its sponsors, athletes on the Olympic path receive financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support.

“Being named to your national team in any sport is a distinct honor, but it is also important to realize that these athletes have embraced a long-term commitment to excellence,” said Page. “In addition to displaying some fine racing results over the past year, each of these sailors have committed to a comprehensive training and competition plan for 2017. We want our roster to feature athletes who are internationally competitive, progressing in their training plans, and committed to reaching the top of the podium.”

The 2017 team features seven athletes who competed in Rio 2016, and it is expected that others, including Olympic bronze medalist Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) will return to action over the coming months. The US Sailing Team started the year with good results at World Cup Series Miami, North America’s premier Olympic classes regatta. Men’s 470 veterans Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.), the top-performing American boat in any class over the past four years, claimed their third career Miami gold medals. McNay and Hughes finished 4th overall at Rio 2016, and their near-miss of the Olympic podium has propelled them towards earning another chance in Tokyo.

Joining McNay and Hughes on the national team for the first time will be 2016 I420 Youth World Champions Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.), who have made the jump to the Olympic 470 class. Former 49er sailor Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.), the first modern-era sailor to win U.S. national championships in two different Olympic classes before the age of 18, qualified for the team in early 2017 and transitioned to the Men’s 470 soon after. He will sail with London 2012 Men’s 470 Olympic bronze medalist Lucas Calabrese (Miami, Fla.) who has transferred nationalities from Argentina to the United States. Together, the three U.S. Men’s 470 teams have the potential to form a highly competitive unit.

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