About 60 Island or Island-based athletes are expected to compete in the Pan American Games this fall, the hemispheric multi-sport showcase held every four years.
The 2023 edition goes Oct. 20 to Nov. 5 at Santiago, Chile, in southern hemisphere spring. Sailor Jessica Hirschbold from Oak Bay, and out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, will be among the Islanders on the Canadian team.
Hirschbold earned her spot during the Lightning-class national trials held last week at the Kitsilano Yacht Club as the team of Hirschbold, two-time London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympian Luke Ramsay from the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Rachel Green from the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club topped the 12-team field.
Hirschbold, 18, continues her rise in the sport, graduating to a senior-level Games after representing sa国际传媒 in the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships in Oman, where she placed 18th in the women’s 29er class with fellow-Islander Grace Poole.
“I’m super-excited to qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and to keep learning in the Lightning class,” Hirschbold said in a statement.
The team was thrown together but jelled quickly.
“The team came together quite at the last minute,” said Green. “Luke [Ramsay] heard about the qualifiers in Lightning and wanted to create a team with younger sailors and with the aim of encouraging a continuance of sailing within the fleet.
“Jessica is from Victoria and sails for the UBC team. Her coach recommended her to Luke, and my friend also recommended me to him, and that’s how we got connected.”
Veteran Olympian Ramsay said: “We didn’t know if we would be competitive but we were able to figure things out throughout the weekend and put together a good regatta.
“Given how short a time it was to get things organized, we never talked about the next steps after this event, but I think it would be a great experience to put in some training and make a solid run for the Pan American Games.”
Hirschbold follows in a tradition. Canadian sailors have won nine Olympic medals, including Eric Jespersen of Sidney with bronze at Barcelona in 1992 in the Star class. Canadian sailors have won five Paralympic medals, including David Cook’s Sonar class boat from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with silver at Atlanta in 1996, Stacie Louttit and John McRoberts of Victoria bronze in the Skud class at Beijing in 2008 and McRoberts and Jackie Gay of Victoria silver in the Skud at Rio in 2016. Paul Tingley, out of both Victoria and Halifax, has five Paralympics medals.
The Canadian team roster in all sports for the 2023 Santiago Pan Am Games will fill out over the summer and fall.
Across all sports at the last three Pan Am Games, Island athletes won 17 medals in 2019 at Lima, Peru; 20 medals, including 13 gold, in 2015 at Toronto; and 21 medals in 2011 at Guadalajara, Mexico.
