St. Francis Yacht Club and the St. Francis Sailing Foundation congratulate our three Olympians for all finishing in the top 10 at the Paris Olympics, and for winning the first medal in sailing for the United States since 2016.

Chatting with Hans Henken a few days before the first race for the 49erFX fleet at the Paris Olympics, he said, “In a lot of ways, the work has been done. There isn’t any cramming that needs to be done. We have exactly what we need to compete, we have exactly what we need to succeed. We’re focused on keeping fresh in the boat, staying fresh mentally and just going through all our routines and sticking to it, not being too dramatic or trying to change anything. We will sail every day like I know we can. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to be winning races or doing incredibly well in every race every day. If we can do that every day of the regatta, I think we may find ourselves in contention for a medal towards the end.”

Prophetic as those words were, it was the methodical, consistent approach of Henken and his teammate, Ian Barrows, that led them to a podium finish and the Bronze.

“When we crossed that finish line and Ian said, ‘We just won bronze,’ it was an unbelievable feeling and I don’t think I could ever possibly put into words how incredible it made both of us feel, it was pretty surreal,” Henken said. “It still feels unreal, it still feels like a dream. I feel like I’ve been living someone else’s life for the past week. I feel amazing, I feel really lucky, and really accomplished and that’s a great feeling to have.”

Going into the competition the pair racked up a couple of high scores and the pundits were curious as to how they would recover. Barrows noted that their starts weren’t great at the beginning of the regatta although they were sailing the boat really well. Day three was pivotal.

“We had some really good comebacks, we finally got a top five and from then on we had really good starts, we felt really confident although the conditions were mostly light, shifty and puffy. You had to have your head really out of the boat and be ready for anything,” Barrows commented.

“We always had huge faith in our team, and I guess a pivotal moment was day three when we took a lot more risk and executed well to get some good scores on the board,” Henken said. “We agreed that day we weren’t even close to peaking yet, we were still building. We made that our new mantra for the last two days—we’re still building, we’re not going to peak until the very end, we’re going to peak in the medal race and give ourselves a chance at that medal. That’s exactly what we did.

“Another thing that described our belief system throughout this entire event was that we kept telling ourselves that we had to manifest it, we had to think the medal into existence; think it, say it once, then go do it. I think that played a really big role in our success.”

Exhilaration to indescribable disappointment were the overarching themes in the first ever Men’s and Women’s Kite Medal Series at an Olympic Games. Markus Edegran finished 9th overall, and Daniela Moroz took 4th. Edegran is relatively new to the discipline and cited his diverse sailing background as his biggest asset going into the Games. He opened his semifinal race with a port tack start, along with Great Britain’s Connor Bainbridge. Edegran made a beeline out to the right side of the course and was leading the fleet until a crash took him off his board and dropped him back to 4th for the remainder of the race and a 9th overall.

“It’s tough,” said Edegran. “I met my first goal of making the medal series, but I know I have it in me to be on the podium. I’m proud of my climb in the months leading here and proud of a solid performance at my first Olympics, but I’m hungry for more. I’m super grateful to the US Sailing Team for the support here on the ground and to my community back home who’s backed my efforts to be here. Representing Team USA this week has been an honor.”

As six-time world champion and four-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, Moroz is no stranger to the highest level of competition in Formula Kite Foil. In an event where just eight of 16 races were actually raced, due to light winds, Moroz clocked up the fastest speed during the Olympic racing. In the semifinal where she needed one win to advance to the finals, neck-and-neck with Switzerland’s Elena Lengwiler, Moroz was fouled at the last windward mark by Lengwiler. Moroz won her protest, Lengwiler was thrown out, and it was a ticket to Women’s Kite Finals for Team USA, joining France’s Lauriane Nolot, Great Britain’s Eleanor Aldridge and Annelous Lammerts from The Netherlands.

The finals got underway as the breeze faltered. Moroz entered the first race in an advantageous position on the largest kite in her quiver as all other kiters missed the window to size up on shore for the dying breeze. Aldridge won the first race which stalled Nolot from taking the gold medal and kept the game on with another race for women’s finals. In order to medal, Moroz needed to finish ahead of Dutch sailor Annelous Lammerts in the second race but came in just behind her in 4th overall.

“It’s been a really difficult few days and I’m heartbroken and disappointed, it hurts a lot, and it will for a while,” Moroz said. “This sport is both beautiful and ruthless, and as athletes we chase the highs but risk the lows that are part of the journey. I’ve said plenty of times before that I practice conscious gratitude for those highs and lows, and this is now my ultimate challenge. I respect the process of this competition and want to extend my sincere congratulations to Ellie, Lauriane, and Annelous who have shown me friendship on and off the water in this epic lead up to get here together.”

Aldridge posted about Moroz, “You’ve been an amazing competitor and friend all the way through these years. The strength and depth of the women’s kite foil fleet wouldn’t be where it is now without you, the OG legend! I hope you can be proud of the journey; you are amazing.”

Moroz has a huge following at home in the Bay Area and StFYC, and she’s looking forward to getting back to a somewhat normal routine for a while. Her mom, Linda, has spent the past two months in Marseille supporting Daniela and she’ll not forget this special time that she was able to have with her Olympian daughter.

“She and her coach, Chris, worked so hard,” Linda commented. “Sometimes I would not pick her up from the marina until 5 or 6pm and she would be exhausted! I loved having this special time with Daniela, it was something we were both experiencing together, sharing the feelings, the nervousness, and the excitement, it’s been great.”

Moroz, 23, concluded with her characteristic grace and positive attitude, “I know I had the best team out there with me, on shore, and my family and friends at home. This result does not take away from how proud I am of the program we put together to represent the Stars and Stripes on the water. Go Team USA, forever and always. This is only the beginning, and there is a lot ahead #LA2028!”

The Women’s Kite Foil Final Medal Race
Great Britain’s Eleanor Aldridge glides to women’s kiteboarding gold | Paris Olympics | NBC Sports (youtube.com)