US’ duo Ian Barrows and Hans Henken celebrate with their staff after winning the bronze medal at the end of the medal race of the men’s 49er skiff event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games sailing competition at the Roucas-Blanc Marina in Marseille on August 2, 2024.
A Yale graduate is now an Olympic bronze medalist in sailing.
Skipper Ian Barrows and his teammate, Hans Henken, had a strong finish in Friday's men's skiff medal race in Marseille, France, crossing the finish line in the fourth position.
After crossing the line, they had to wait to see where Ireland would finish the race before they could celebrate. The Ireland boat finished ninth in the race, dropping them out of medal contention and moving Team USA onto the podium in the overall standings. Ireland was in a strong position to medal before the start of the race, but they crossed the starting line early and had to circle back for a restart, setting them back in their quest to reach the podium.
New Zealand took the silver medal.
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The men's skiff competition began on Sunday and consisted of 12 races throughout the week followed by Friday's medal race, which included the top 10 boats in the overall standings.
The medal race was supposed to take place on Thursday, but had to be abandoned due to a lack of wind.
The bronze for Barrows and Henken is the first medal in sailing of any kind for the U.S. since the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
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Barrows, who grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, graduated from Yale in 2017. While at Yale, he was a four-time collegiate All-American and was the College Sailor of the Year in 2017.
Another sailor with ties to Connecticut, Maggie Shea, competed in women's skiff medal race on Friday.
Shea, who graduated from Connecticut College, and her teammate, Stephanie Roble, finished 10th overall in that competition.
