Fort Lauderdale’s Reineke wins Olympic Sailing Trials, will head to Paris
Erika Reineke competed in her first Olympic Sailing Trials in 2012 at age 18. She finished second, and missed the London Olympics. She tried again four years later, placed second, and missed the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then came the trials for the 2020 Tokyo Games; she was runner-up.
On Saturday, Reineke’s fourth attempt proved golden. The Fort Lauderdale native earned a spot at this summer’s Paris Games by winning the trials in the ILCA 6 class, completing the week-long regatta with two savvy races off the Miami Beach shore.
“I’ve been racing half my life on this boat for this goal and it’s taken a long time, so it’s a little unreal,” Reineke said on the beach of the Miami Yacht Club. “I just love competing, and figuring out the game in one of the most difficult Olympic classes, physically and tactically. I’m thrilled that it all came together.”
Reineke, 30, was in second place, trailing Houston’s Charlotte Rose by four points going into the final day. When Rose erred by crossing the starting line early in the first race Saturday, she was relegated to last place and fell out of contention for victory. In the second race, Reineke had to make sure she finished within three boats of Christina Sakellaris, who had won the first race to tighten the points standings.
After a delay due to a shifting breeze, Reineke sailed what was in effect a match race against Sakellaris and finished 14th to Sakellaris’ 17th to win the regatta by five points. Rose, who had been the leader most of the week, placed third. Only the winner represents the U.S. at the Paris Olympics, where the 10 classes of sailing will be contested in Marseilles.
Ford McCann of Houston dominated the men’s ILCA 7 regatta with five victories in 14 races. By winning the trials, he would represent the U.S. at the Olympics — but only if the U.S. manages to qualify for a berth in Marseilles, which will be decided at the Last Chance Regatta in France in April.
The ILCA class was formerly known as Laser and Laser Radial.