{"id":75058,"date":"2023-03-27T15:16:42","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T19:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=75058"},"modified":"2023-05-07T00:04:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T04:04:26","slug":"new-mix-olympic-470-pairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/new-mix-olympic-470-pairs\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Mix of Olympic 470 Pairs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Trevor Bornarth and Louisa Nordstrom are paired for a run at the Paris Olympics Mixed 470 berth but must first qualify themselves and the US team.<\/span>\n Allison Chenard\/US Sailing Team<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Training alone in their International 470<\/a> off the south shore of Long Island, New York, in the summer of 2021, Louisa Nordstrom and Trevor Bornarth were a world away from the spectacle of the Tokyo Games<\/a>. There, Olympians Stu McNay and Dave Hughes rolled their sails together for the last time, marking the end of the individual men\u2019s and women\u2019s Olympic 470 disciplines and the beginning of the new Mixed Olympic 470 era. For Nordstrom and Bornarth, and many young sailors looking to reach the pinnacle of dinghy sailing, this new coed medal provides a unique opportunity to compete in the Paris and Los Angeles Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt (the switch to a mixed class) does level the playing field a little bit for a new sailor coming into the fleet because everyone has to reset by sailing with a new person,\u201d Nordstrom says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of younger talent coming into the 470 because I think it\u2019s easier to get into the class given that everyone is starting fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordstrom, 24, from Sarasota, Florida, grew up racing in the ILCA 6, Club 420 and 29er fleets and excelled at Yale, receiving four College Sailing All-American honors before graduating in 2020. Bornarth, two years younger and from Port Solerno, Florida, stood out in the International 420 class, placing second at the 2017 World Sailing Youth World Championships. While pursuing Olympic 470 sailing full time, Bornarth is also enrolled online at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pair first connected in Newport in the fall of 2020 through the US Sailing Team Olympic Development Program, an initiative aimed at preparing elite youth sailors for Olympic-level competition. With both sailors aiming for the 2024 Games, they began their campaign with the Oyster Bay 470 Team and were named to the US Sailing Team<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year and a half later, now with the full resources of the US Sailing Team, their most significant challenges still lie before them. Following years of intense training and competition, however, Nordstrom and Bornarth are dialing in their performance, and their results are getting them ever closer to the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast year was a big year of figuring out how to sail the 470 fast\u2014and that is a huge project,\u201d Bornarth says. \u201cNow we\u2019re focused on racing, in-the-boat communication, and how we\u2019re making decisions in tactical situations where you can either gain three boats or lose three boats. That\u2019s how we can go from struggling in the upper-middle pack to punching through to the medal race consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing Olympic-level performance in the 470 is a lifelong mission, says two-time Olympian Dave Hughes. \u201cYou never finish learning how to sail a 470,\u201d he says. \u201cIt has many modes available to you, both upwind and downwind, and you pay a large price if you spend time in a mode that is not ideal. You can sail the boat at an A level for an entire race and artificially think that you\u2019re at an A-plus level, but you pay the price with your results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Nordstrom and Bornarth each bringing a unique background and experience to the 470, they rely on each other\u2019s strengths to excel in a variety of conditions. \u201cLouisa is an absolute weapon at calling the shifty stuff\u2014college sailing definitely paid off there. When it\u2019s cranking, and Louisa can\u2019t see anything, I\u2019m calling tactics,\u201d Bornarth says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability for teams to rely on both partners in the tactical conversation is paramount for success in the 470, Hughes says: \u201cMost successful teams are running it so that the crew and the helm can appropriately shift the tactical football. You have to be able to transfer authority on the tactics effectively\u2014there\u2019s just so much to be gained and lost in the margins that that\u2019s where the best teams show their prowess, and that\u2019s how you win regattas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training with international partners in Europe has allowed Nordstrom and Bornarth to work with the world\u2019s leading teams while the American 470 fleet continues to develop. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked a lot together with the Italians, the Israelis and the Brits,\u201d Nordstrom says. \u201cBeing in Europe and being able to go early to events and train together with the entire fleet has been an absolute game-changer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duo also uses state-of-the-art technology to improve during domestic solo training sessions. \u201cWe have trackers, and at the end of the day, we can put it all on a tablet and analyze different aspects of our sailing,\u201d Bornarth says. \u201cThat makes it a little more productive than it would be if we just say, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re going out to look at this new mainsail,\u2019 and we\u2019re by ourselves\u2014we don\u2019t get any data off it. Now that we\u2019re incorporating these sailing instruments, it\u2019s been a lot more productive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing success in their \u00adracing results after years of hard work is a major driving factor in Nordstrom and Bornarth\u2019s campaign. Finishing 13th at the 2022 International 470 European Championship in Turkey, their best campaign result to date, has motivated them to become even better. \u201cTurkey was really exciting, as we were finally in the front of the fleet,\u201d Nordstrom says. \u201cWe\u2019ve known we can do it, and it was great to finally get a taste of accomplishing it. I think a big motivation going forward is to continue experiencing that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordstrom and Bornarth represent a generation of younger 470 sailors stepping into a notoriously technical and specialized class. Spearheaded by the Olympic Development Program and the private Oyster Bay 470 Team, collegiate sailors and recent graduates flocking to the boat are revitalizing what was recently considered a dying one-design class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, the problem is we need boats,\u201d Bornarth says. \u201cPeople are looking to buy more boats, and a lot of the [420] youth teams are starting to cross over. Domestically, US Sailing has done a great job of starting to promote the 470 again, and if we can get 10 boats on the starting line of the [2023 West Marine] US Open Sailing Series, that will probably be the first time in a decade that we\u2019ve had that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 470 remains one of the world\u2019s most competitive classes despite the influx of new sailors following the change to a mixed format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think, initially, the switch definitely leveled the playing field. But as we\u2019ve seen over the past six months, it has fully ramped up\u2014all the top guys are back with new crews or crews from the women\u2019s or men\u2019s squad,\u201d Bornarth says. \u201cYou still have all the same sailors that were initially at the top of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s fleets now at the top of this fleet, so it\u2019s still very challenging. Now that we\u2019ve combined the men\u2019s and women\u2019s fleets, it\u2019s gotten deeper. While the level may not be as high as it was in the top three of the men\u2019s or women\u2019s fleets, now the top 15 are there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong competition is also returning to the United States, with four-time 470 Olympian Stu McNay partnering with 2021 Women\u2019s 470 Olympian Lara Dallman-Weiss. The full consequences of the shift to the mixed format will not be known for years to come, but current results show promise in assisting the development and longevity of the fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot behind the decision for it going mixed,\u201d says Hughes, who serves on World Sailing\u2019s Athletes\u2019 Commission, a body that represents Olympic athletes in World Sailing\u2019s decision-\u00admaking process. \u201cUltimately, it did yield a case for [the 470] being in for another two Olympics: Paris and LA. Does that help the class? Absolutely, it does. Is the class different in terms of the people and the vibe? Yes, for sure. There are some people who have stuck on after Tokyo, but mostly it has provided a lot of newcomers an opportunity in the class. I think it is healthy, and now it is up to the class over the next two years to show that it can become the type of class that is more modern in terms of its racing, thought process and class development, and really deserves to be in the Olympic schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Nordstrom and Bornarth have a long road ahead, they\u2019re enjoying every moment of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the process and enjoying it,\u201d Bornarth says. \u201cThe big thing in our campaign is making sure that even tasks that aren\u2019t that fun, we try to find the joy in it. We tell ourselves every day that we\u2019re living the dream\u2014this is what we want to be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Olympic regatta was a world away not too long ago, the call of Marseille is fast becoming a real thing for Nordstrom and Bornarth. There will be plenty more sails to roll before then, and if Olympic aspirations come up short in 2024, the next big shot in Long Beach is right around the corner in\u00a02028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Olympic 470 class was shifted to coed for the next Olympics there was a shuffling of the 470 sailor deck. New to the mix is the US’s Trevor Bornarth and Louisa Nordstrom, now battling for a berth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":75059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Lucas Masiello","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Trevor Bornarth and Louisa Nordstrom teamed up for a berth in the new coed Olympic 470 discipline at the Paris Olympics, facing a new field of teams.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[198,186,185,2899,177],"class_list":["post-75058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-198","tag-olympic-sailing","tag-olympics","tag-print-march-2023","tag-racing"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}