World Sailing announce Rio 2016 press team

470 sailing off Copacabana Beach © Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

World Sailing have announced the appointment of Darryl Seibel as Chief Press Officer of World Sailing for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Seibel served as Director of Communications and Olympic Media Strategy for the British Olympic Association from 2009-2014 and before that was the Chief Communications Officer for the United States Olympic Committee. The Rio 2016 Olympics will be his 10th Olympic Games assignment.

Seibel is currently Deputy Director of Athletics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and will join the World Sailing team at the Games.

Darryl will be supported in his leadership team by Malcolm Page, Chief Marketing Officer of World Sailing. Following a highly successful sailing career that included Olympic gold medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and seven world championship titles, Page has led World Sailing's Marketing and Media department since June 2015.

The Australian will be working closely with Seibel, overseeing the sports' presentation at Rio 2016 as well as being World Sailing's Official 'sporting voice' of Rio 2016, offering expert analysis of the sport to the world's press.

"Sailing has a unique opportunity at Rio 2016 and is one of Brazil's most successful Olympic sports," explained Page. "Great Brazilian champions such as Robert Scheidt, Martine Grael, Kahena Kunze, Isabel Swan and Fernanda Oliveira will capture the public's imagination in Rio. The natural amphitheatre of Guanabara Bay's Flamengo Beach provides a fantastic opportunity for the cariocas to come down and watch our great sport."

Page and Seibel will be joined by an experienced media team on the ground in Rio. The team includes World Sailing Media Co-ordinator Daniel Smith, former Spanish Sailing Team Press Officer Neus Jordi, Digital Media Co-ordinator Max Böhlen and expert sailing journalists Andy Rice and Craig Leweck.

Two of the world's finest sailing photographers, Jesus Renedo and Pedro Martinez, have been appointed as World Sailing's Official Rio 2016 Photographers and will deliver international imagery across the event.

Supporting the team at World Sailing's Headquarters in Southampton, Great Britain will be Richard Aspland and Fi Edwards.

World Sailing Chief Executive Officer Andy Hunt said, "Sailing under the iconic Christ the Redeemer and in the shadow of the Sugarloaf Mountain, the sport is blessed with Rio's and the world's most iconic imagery. It is up to World Sailing to ensure that no opportunity is missed and I am pleased we have such an experienced and forward thinking team

"Under the guidance of Darryl and Malcolm, we aim to capture the imagination of the public and create heroes who define our sport."

"It is a privilege to work with such a talented, experienced team of professionals in the Olympic Games environment," said Seibel. "We know there will be unprecedented interest in the sport of sailing in Rio. Our goals are to give the world's most accomplished sailors the opportunity to excel on the Olympic stage and to provide the world's media with the resources, information and access they need to chronicle these important stories."