U.S. Team Earns Six Medals in PV

With the Pan American Games being hosted by Guadalajara — Mexico’s “second city” — the sailing events were based out of Nuevo Vallarta last week. Team USA’s sailors wrapped up the regatta at the Vallarta Yacht Club on Sunday, grabbing six medals in nine classes on their way home: silvers in the J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish, and bronzes in the Laser Radial and women’s Windsurfing classes.

Among the U.S. silver medalists was the Lightning team of skipper Jody Lutz with crew Jay Lutz and Derek Gauger. The team was fifth in Sunday’s medal race, which put them six points back of gold medalist Chile. While he was disappointed to not bring home the gold, Jody Lutz said he enjoyed his Pan Am Games experience.

“It was such an opportunity to represent the U.S.,” he said. “It was something that us ‘old guys’ don’t get a chance to do very often. The class that we sail, the Lightning, is not in the Olympics, so this is our Olympics.

In addition to the Lightning team, the following U.S. sailors also earned silver medals: J/24 — John Mollicone, Geoff Becker, Daniel Rabin, and Paul Abdullah; Snipe — Augie Diaz, Kathleen Tocke; Sunfish — Paul Foerester. Bronze medals went to: Laser Radial — Paige Railey; RS:X Women — Farrah Hall. In the other three events, Hobie 16s, Lasers and RS:X Men, American sailors took sixth, sixth, and seventh respectively.

“A lot of these athletes don’t get to necessarily compete at the Olympic level, but the overall level of world-class sailing was definitely shown here by the Americans,” said U.S. Sailing team leader Dave Johnson. “Our sailors were able to perform, and it’s pretty exciting to see that.”