ROAD TO RIO RUNS THROUGH LAKE FOREST SAILING
Published on 3/10/2014
Forget the Winter Olympics, it’s time to think Summer Olympics, 2016, Rio de Janeiro, AND cheering for the Olympic sailors from Lake Forest!
The U.S. Sailing Team – the team sent to compete in the Olympic classes at the World Cup events of the International Sailing Federation – is made up of sailors considered to be the 28 top U.S. athletes in the Olympic classes and three are alumni of Lake Forest Sailing. They are:
Gordon Lamphere, Finn Class. A graduate of Tabor Academy and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, he lists Lake Forest Sailing among his memberships. His brother Malcolm is a senior and sailing team member at LFHS. The Finn is a single-handed, 14 ft. 9 in., 236 lb dinghy and Gordon sailed his to a top 10 finish in the 2013 Miami World Cup regatta.
Annie Haeger, Women’s 470 Class. Annie sailed for Lake Forest High School and was a 4-year All-American sailor at Boston College. Now one of 12 women on the U.S. team, she skippered her two-person, high-performance, 15 ft. 5 in. boat to a top 10 finish in each of the 2013 World Cup regattas.
Ryan Pesch, 49er Class. Ryan sailed for Lake Forest Academy and Boston University and now is skipper of the ultra-light, extremely fast 16 ft, 164 lb. two-person 49er. He sailed the World Cup events in 2013 and took 2nd in Miami.
The U.S. Sailing Team – formally U.S. Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider -- Is managed jointly by the national governing body for sail sport, US Sailing, and the Olympic Sailing Committee. They have put three young people who used to share your harbor on a Road to Rio never contemplated by Bob Hope or Bing Crosby in their old movie.