Brazil shine at Pan American Games in Peru

Brazil struck big with five gold medals in sailing at the 2019 Pan American Games in Paracas, Peru.

The most successful nation at this year’s event with 10 medals overall, the Brazilians took the title in the Women’s Windsurfer, Men’s Skiff, Women’s Skiff, Open Dinghy and Open Kiteboarder events.
 
Argentina followed with eight medals, including three golds, and third best were the USA, with two gold medals out of seven overall.
 
Hosts Peru won two bronze medals, while Canada claimed three medals, and Aruba, Chile and Uruguay all won one each.
 
In total, 168 athletes from 26 nations competed across 11 events, making it the most successful Pan American Games so far for sailing.
 
Of the seven Olympic events, two stand-out performers were Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze (BRA) in the Women’s Skiff (49erFX).
 
The Rio 2016 champions wrapped up gold by an impressive 14 points, bettering their silver medal at the same event in 2015.
 
Stephanie Roble & Maggie Shea (USA) took silver, going one better than their compatriots Paris Henken & Helena Scutt four years ago. Victoria Travascio & Maria Sol Branz (ARG), the defending champions going into the event, finished just one point behind them for bronze.
 
The Brazilians were similarly dominant in the Men’s Skiff (49er), as another Grael sibling struck gold.
 
Marco Grael & Gabriel Borges claimed gold by 12 points, ahead of brothers Yago & Klaus Lange (ARG) and Alexander Heinzemann & Justin Barnes (CAN) in the event’s Pan Am Games debut.
 
And the Women’s Windsurfer (RS:X) saw another 14-point margin between gold and silver, as Patricia Freitas (BRA) successfully defended her title.
 
Claiming silver was Celia Tejerina (ARG), while young windsurfer Maria Bazo (PER) got bronze on her home waters.
 
The other two Brazilian gold medals were won by Matheus Dellagnelo in the Open Dinghy (Sunfish) and Bruno Lobo in the Open Kiteboarder (Formula Kite).
 
In the Men’s Windsurfer (RS:X), Argentina took one of their three gold medals through Bautista Saubidet, who was victorious by 13 points.
 
Pedro Pascual added a silver to the USA’s medal haul, with Mack Van Den Eerenbeemt winning Aruba’s only medal of the Games.
 
Elsewhere for Argentina, two 2015 titles were retained, as Juan Ignacio Maegli won gold in the Men’s Dinghy (Laser) and Javier Conte, Paula Salerno & Ignacio Giammona triumphed in the Mixed Three-Person Dinghy (Lightning).
 
Bruno Fontes (BRA) won silver in the Men’s Dinghy as compatriot Robert Scheidt had four years earlier, with Charlie Buckingham (USA) claiming bronze.
 
And in the Women’s Dinghy (Laser Radial), Sarah Douglas narrowly edged out 2016 & 2017 Youth Sailing World Champion Charlotte Rose (USA) by a single point to get Canada’s only gold medal. Lucia Falasca (ARG) finished 21 points behind Rose for bronze.
 
Finally, in the Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17), Riley Gibbs & Anna Weis (USA) got the better of Mateo Majdalani & Eugenia Bosco (ARG) in a tight battle to seal one of two gold medals for their country. Samuel Albrecht & Gabriela Nicolino (BRA) followed closely behind to get bronze.
 
The USA’s other gold medal came in the Mixed Two-Person Dinghy (Snipe) courtesy of Ernesto Rodriguez & Hallie Schiffman, an improvement on Augie Diaz & Kathleen Tocke’s bronze in 2015.
 
The next Pan American Games is set to take place in Santiago, Chile in 2023.

Find out more here – https://www.lima2019.pe/en/pan-american-sports/sailing