Santiago Lange won’t go to the Pan American Games: why it’s not a success and which duo won the seat

Argentina has ensured the presence of thirteen boats in the yachting of the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023. One of those slots is for the class Nacre 17in which Giacomo Lange He climbed to the top step of the Olympic podium in Rio de Janeiro 2016, together with Cecilia Carranza Saroli. That’s why the big news is that it won’t be Sanisidrense and her new partner, Victoria Travascio, which will carry the Argentine flag in the continental event. Those who go for gold in the Chilean capital will be Matteo Majdalani AND Eugenie Bosco.

The 28-year-old from Buenos Aires and the 25-year-old from Sampedra overtook Lange and Travascio in the selection organized by the Argentine Nautical Federationwhich took into account the results of two traditional world sailing competitions: the Princess Sofia Trophyin Mallorca, and the French Olympic Weekwhich was held in Hyères.

Majdalani and Bosco finished eighth in the Spanish tournament and silver medalists in the French one, a first for the pair in an event of that level. They thus overtook Lange and Travascio, who respectively added 13th and 16th place, and took possession of the place for the Pan American Games, which they themselves had conquered by finishing in tenth place in the Nova Scotia World ChampionshipCanada, last year.

“Come on!!!! Seconds in Olympique Francaise week after a week with complicated wind. For the first time we got on the podium in a big championship with Euge. Many years have passed, but today with more desire than ever to continue training and pushing,” celebrated Majdalani on his Instagram account.

“Big congratulations to Mateo and Euge on qualifying for the Pan American Games. They have been superior and I am sure they will leave Argentina at the top“Lange commented on the same social network.

“Special tournament when you have to compete this close to injury. But one of those great experiences that redefines victory or defeat. I feel like we went out of our way to compete and that makes me very proud of our team,” added the world legend of yachting.

Lang he had been operated on for appendicitis just before the start of the competition in Hyéres. On April 21, he posted a photo of him in a hospital bed on Instagram, saying that he had been operated on a few days ago. On the 25th he shared another in which he is seen on top of the boat, after completing the first day of racing in that French location.

Lange has 61 years old (he will be 62 in September) e seven participations and three Olympic medals: two bronzes in the Tornado class together with Carlos Espínola and gold in Rio.

After finishing seventh in Tokyo 2020 and ending his sporting partnership with Carranza Saroli on excellent terms, he put together a new team at the end of that year with Travascio, with the aim of aiming for qualification Paris 2024. A ranking that will now be quite complicated and not because it will not go to the Pan American Games.

Is that Santiago 2023 will deliver two tickets to Nacra 17 for the French Olympic event, one of which will go to the best South American boat. But it will be a quota for the country and then it will be decided who will occupy it through another selective system of the FAY.

For this, in principle, the results of four tournaments will be taken into consideration: Princesa Sofia and Hyéres played in April; He Olympic test eventwhich will take place in Marseille from 7 to 14 July (provided that all the contenders for the selective can participate), and the The World Cup in The Haguefrom 10 to 20 August.

Majdalani and Bosco, who have already secured their presence in the test event for the Olympic event, they start ahead in that race in Parisprecisely because of the results with which they won their place at the Pan American Games.

So even if mathematically nothing is decided, Lange’s chances of qualifying for his eighth Olympics aren’t the best.

a different reality

Is this reality surprising? Maybe yes for the general public, who get passionate about boating when the Olympic or Pan-American Games are held. But for those who closely follow the journey of Argentine sailors day by day, not much.

It is that beyond the passion, talent and ability that Lange has to navigate, it is not for nothing that he is a living legend of their sport all over the world – today Majdalani and Bosco are the best team.

Sanisidrense and Travascio have been sailing together for just a year and a half. La Plata, fifth Tokyo 2020 and double Pan-American medal (gold in Toronto 2015 and bronze in Lima 2019) at the 49er FX together with Sol Branzhe had to get used to a completely different boat than the one he had used until 2021.

And even Lange had to be satisfied, because the Nacra 17 catamaran has undergone some modifications compared to the one used at the Games in the Japanese capital.

Majdalani was part of the team of Lange and Carranza during the 2016 Olympic event. And he was also involved in starting the Nacra 15 project of Dante Citizens AND Teresa Romaironewho won gold in Buenos Aires Youth Games 2018. In 2017 she started competing with Bosco in Nacra and in 2019 they hung silver at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Paris 2024 is the second Olympic cycle they face together. In the previous one, still having much less experience than Lange and Carranza, they had previously agreed that they would go to the Pan-American event in the Peruvian capital, to resume filming, and that the Rio champions, already established as teammates, would try to defend the title in Tokyo.

They had also agreed with Sanisidrense and Rosario to share training days, interviews and working hours throughout the process. This has allowed them to learn a lot and grow. And it led them to be today the best Argentine couple in this class and the one that will represent Argentina in Santiago de Chile.

The other Argentine shares

The Pan American Games sailing regattas will take place from October 28 to November 5 at the Nautical Brotherhood of the Pacific from Algarrobo, a city in the Valparaíso region. There will be, at least for now, thirteen Argentine boats competing in twelve classes. Some of these slots already have owners, while others will be confirmed in the coming months.

In the mixed classes, in addition to the share in Nacra 17, one was obtained in snipe and another inside lightning. The first will be for Julio Alsogaraydouble Pan-American medal in laser, and Malena Sciarrawhich prevailed in the national selection held at the 58th Mar de Plata International Yachting Week, earlier this year.

The second, even if it is not yet official, would be used Javier Conte -Olympic bronze in Sydney 2000 in 470 with Juan De La Fuente and two-time Pan-American champion in Lightning in Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019- and the sisters Martina AND Trinidad Silvawho secured her ticket by winning bronze at the World Championships in that class in North Carolina in May 2022.

In 49er FX will be presented Carranza AND Sol Branz, bronze winners at the Princesa Sofía Trophy a few weeks ago. in the meantime 49er will compete Maximum AND Luke Contessiwho finished 65th in that traditional Spanish tournament, in which they were the only national duo.

Catherine Turienzo AND Frederick Aguilar will be the celestial and white representatives in kiting. The 16-year-old from Bahia qualified for Santiago after finishing tenth at the US Open Clearweater Series in Florida in February and holding onto one of the three places that race was up for grabs. And the 46-year-old from Entre Ríos, coach of Turienzo, after winning the bronze at the Pan American Games in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, in March.

Marco Quiroga will be one of the Argentines who will race the regattas of IQ sheetafter securing his place by winning gold at the 2021 Cali Juniors Pan American Games. There will also be one more athlete in the men’s competition of that class and one in the women’s competition, both to be confirmed.

The odds for Laser AND Radial laser and of sunfish female.