Erika Reineke: Seizing the Opportunity

“Being told I was going to Paris, it was a really special moment,” Reineke smiles. The original plan for the Paris cycle was in the 49erFX crewing at the front of the skiff with her friend Lucy Wilmot doing the steering. It was a good experience but it looked unlikely that they would catch up on the more experienced teams with many years of skiff sailing already under their belts.

“I learned a lot from that boat and then we ended our campaign together, and I kind of just thought why not jump back in the Radial [ILCA 6] and just see what happens? So I jumped back in and my first Worlds went well, and I fell back in love with the boat.”

With only four weeks of practice after two years away from the boat, Reineke finished 10th at the 2022 Worlds in Texas. So her course was set, back on the hiking programme after two years of high-speed trapezing.

Sailing the skiff, where every manoeuvre is more costly compared with the ILCA 6, has taught Reineke some valuable lessons. “I think in the ILCA, because you can tack so often it’s really easy to get a little too crafty. When you’re sailing the 49er, tacking is just like 10 times slower than an ILCA.

“I think in certain conditions in the ILCA I was just trying to be a little too crafty and instead of putting my head down and hiking hard to a side of the course, I’d tack instead.”

When the lactic acid starts building up, tacking the boat can bring a temporary relief from the constant pain of hiking, but now Reineke tries to dig in to one side of the course more than she might have done in the past.

Getting back into a singlehander, Reineke admits to missing some of the team dynamics of racing with a teammate.

“Yeah, I definitely enjoyed sailing with the team. I thought it made sailing way more fun and it was really awesome to see how another person saw what winning might look like. It was really cool bouncing ideas off each other and I miss it a little bit. However, I do have my coach Eric [Bowers] and now we kind of do the same thing. So even though I’m in the boat by myself, he’s definitely my teammate.”

Aside from her sojourn in the 49erFX, Reineke has also been busy competing as part of the USA team on SailGP and training with the America’s Cup Women’s squad, so she has plenty to look forward to in pro sailing after the Paris Games are done. For the time being, however, it’s all about maximising the chance of winning a medal for the United States. The last American to win a medal in the class was Anna Tobias who took gold in Beijing in 2008.

Tobias is reaching the end of the Olympic trials process in the 49erFX with helmswoman Paris Henken, so Reineke hasn’t wanted to distract from their campaign. “Anna’s a little busy with her trials right now, but I’m definitely planning on grabbing her. And Paige [Railey, who beat Reineke to Tokyo 2020 selection] sent me a really nice note after the trials, which is really awesome because we spent so many years sailing together.

“It was probably 12 years together, training together, so it was really nice of her to reach out and congratulate me. Even though we were rivals, you’re pushing each other as hard as you can and there’s an ultimate level of respect between us.”

As for the Games, Reineke is clear about the goal. “Well it’s always about going out to win it, right?”