Gold and Silver for USA at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía

10/04/2022

US Sailing

The 51st Princesa Sofía regatta wrapped in Palma de Mallorca with an exciting set of medal races and finals.

Formula Kite athlete Daniela Moroz secured the gold and USST 49er team Barrows / Henken took home the silver at the Hempel World Cup Series event.

Final results of USST Medal Race Qualifiers

Daniela Moroz (Formula Kite) – Gold Medal
Ian Barrows / Hans Henken (49er) – 2nd in medal race, Silver Medal
Andrew Mollerus / Ian MacDiarmid (49er) – 9th in medal race, 5th overall
Steph Roble / Maggie Shea (49erFX) – 9th in medal race, 9th overall

“Today was intense,” said Moroz. “I had to win two races in order to win the event and Lauriane Nolot [from Team France] came in with one point already and only needed one race win to take the title. It was pretty high pressure for me, but I was really happy with the first race. Then the second race I had a rough start and had a lot of ground to make up throughout the two laps. The final race came down to the last gybe and it became all about boat handling and I’m stoked to come away with the win.”

Supporting Moroz through the finals was Noah Runciman and Kai Calder, USST ODP Men’s Formula Kite athletes who competed in the event but did not advance to the finals. Together with Coach Charlie McKee the three provided assistance on the water and the beach. Runciman joined coach McKee on the rib and served as a second set of eyes, and Calder helped Moroz set up her kite and keep in constant contact with what McKee and Runciman were seeing on the water.

Team Barrows/Henken came into the event with a goal of utilizing clear and consistent communication around the racecourse to promote a higher level of performance and support their ability to execute on strategy and tactics. But even while focusing on goals outside of numbers, team Barrows/Henken came away with a shining silver medal.

“Today’s medal race was really exciting,” said USST 49er athlete Ian Barrows. “We started off the race and split from the fleet. The shift came along in our favor and we were even with the French team and then we got a nice lefty at the end of the first beat. Then we were in second and the French team was in last.”

Hans Henken added, “So Ian turns to me and says ‘the French guys are in last- what do we do?’ And I said ‘I guess we just keep sailing fast and see how it plays out!”

“We’re really stoked on our finish, and our props to the French team on a good race and the regatta win,” said Barrows.

“Palma 2022 is very encouraging for the US team,” said USST Head Coach Luther Carpenter. “It demonstrated top results in windy and wavy conditions against top international competition. We know we need to perform at the top of these fleets in races and regattas, and this event shows us that sailors’ hard work is paying off”

Next, a good handful of Princesa Sofía attendees will take some time off before making their way to Hyéres, France for the French Olympic Sailing Week that kicks off April 23. Hyéres will be the second of only two regattas in 2022 that gathers all Olympic class boats in one place.