Fort Lauderdale’s Erika Reineke wins Olympic Sailing Trials
Erika Reineke competed in her first Olympic Sailing Trials in 2012 at age 18. She finished second, and missed the London Olympics. She tried again four years later, placed second, and missed the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then came the trials for the 2020 Tokyo Games; she was runner-up.
On Saturday, Reineke’s fourth attempt proved golden. The Fort Lauderdale native earned a spot at this summer’s Paris Games by winning the trials in the ILCA 6 class, completing the week-long regatta with two savvy races in fluctuating 5- to 12-knot winds off the Miami Beach shore.
“I’ve been racing half my life on this boat for this goal and it’s taken a long time, so it’s a little unreal,” Reineke said on the beach of the Miami Yacht Club. “I just love competing, and figuring out the game in one of the most difficult Olympic classes, physically and tactically. I’m thrilled that it all came together.”
Reineke, 30, was in second place, trailing Houston’s Charlotte Rose by four points going into the final day. When Rose erred by crossing the starting line early in the first race Saturday, she was relegated to last place and fell out of contention for victory. In the second race, Reineke had to make sure she finished within three boats of Christina Sakellaris, who had won the first race to tighten the points standings.
After a delay due to a shifting breeze, Reineke sailed what was in effect a match race against Sakellaris and finished 14th to Sakellaris’ 17th to win the regatta by five points. Rose, who had been the leader most of the week, placed third. Only the winner represents the U.S. at the Paris Olympics, where the 10 classes of sailing will be contested in Marseilles.
Ford McCann of Houston dominated the men’s ILCA 7 regatta with five victories in 14 races. By winning the trials, he would represent the U.S. at the Olympics — but only if the U.S. manages to qualify for a berth in Marseilles, which will be decided at the Last Chance Regatta in France in April.
The ILCA class was formerly known as Laser and Laser Radial.
Reineke, who has sailed with her younger sister Sophia out of the Lauderdale Yacht Club since they were little girls, said she had no home seas advantage given the challenging conditions throughout the week.
“We had some strong breeze days when my competitors have a leg up on me because I’m smaller in size,” she said. “I tried to stay close and wait for the breeze to blow in my favor and attack.”
Her coach, Erik Bowers, said Saturday was especially tricky.
“With the offshore, northwest wind, it was a challenging, unstable breeze that makes it tough to read the water, and things can change back and forth suddenly,” he said. “Erika was very consistent.”
Reineke’s parents surprised her on the course by taking a boat south from the Lauderdale Yacht Club. Her sister provided motivation with her specialty — a batch of red velvet cookies embedded with white chocolate chips.
“She is so deserving after 15 years of hard work and perseverance through highs and lows,” Sophia Reineke said. “France here we come!”
The Miami Yacht Club also hosted the Olympic Sailing Trials for five other classes in January, when Miami’s Dominique Stater qualified for the U.S. team in the iQFOIL windsurfer class.
“This was an amazing event for Miami and really puts us on the world stage for the highest levels of competitive sailing,” said club Commodore Mark Ingraham.
