by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
Each of the ten Olympic events has entry limits, and never in memory has the United States failed to qualify for an event. Yet that’s what happened for Tokyo 2020 in the men’s single scull (49er).

While it’s easy to say the USA Sailing Team is underfunded, that’s because it is, using these limited resources is a waste when spent teaching people to navigate. However, this is the situation when candidates leave university to embrace their Olympic dream.

This situation is multiplied when the investment made in this first campaign does not see the fruits of this work during a second quad. The truth is, the US team could have double the funding, but the results won’t change significantly unless sailors increase their commitment.

Thomas Barrows III and Joseph Morris were in their first campaigns, and when they disbanded after finishing 19th out of 20 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the USA 49er program had to start over. The result was how they got good enough to qualify for Tokyo.

However, the road to Paris 2024 has improved as Ian Barrows and Hans Henken build on their past experience. While Tokyo was the first effort for Ian, he enjoys the tutelage of his brother Thomas. Henken are on their third quad, and even though they’re a new pairing for Paris, they seem to be into it. Here is an update of this duo:

Since competing in Oman at the 2021 49er World Championships, we have been preparing for the 2022 European season and are thrilled to finally be able to kick it off at the 51st Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Regatta April 2-9 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

For most of the early winter we trained in Miami, Florida. In January, we participated in our annual US Sailing Team Camp and took advantage of the wide range of expert advice and technology at our disposal to launch many of our project goals. We ended the month on a high by winning the West Marine Miami US Open 2022.

In February, we dedicated our time to fundraising and strength and conditioning to put ourselves in the best possible position to tackle the 2022 European racing season and looked forward to returning to the international stage.

Since the beginning of March we have been training and racing in Palma. We had a range of conditions from sunny and steady southwest winds to cold, rainy and windy northeast winds.

We participated in the 2022 Mallorca Sailing Center Regatta from March 10-13, the precursor event to the annual Princesa Sofia Regatta, winning 4th place in the fleet of 50 boats, while finishing in the top 3, in 5 of the 8 races.

As more and more competitors begin to fill the beach in preparation for the main event, we look forward to our final week of training and look forward to getting back into racing gear. It’s show time!

Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Program
Men’s single-seater dinghy – ILCA 7
Women’s Single-seater Dinghy – ILCA 6
Mixed annex for two people – 470
Men’s Sculls – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFx
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFoil
Women’s windsurfing – iQFoil
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Location: Marseilles, France
Dates: July 26-August 11

Details: https://www.paris2024.org/en/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/