Olympic Champion Malcolm Page selected to lead US Sailing Team
by US Sailing 28 Nov 2016 15:55 GMT
28 November 2016
Malcolm Page (second from left), will lead the US Sailing Team towards Tokyo 2020 © Jesus Renedo / World Sailing
US Sailing today announced the selection of two-time Olympic Champion and seven-time World Champion Malcolm Page (Sydney, Australia) as the Chief of Olympic Sailing, succeeding Josh Adams (Litchfield, Conn.) as head of the national team and overall U.S. Olympic sailing effort.
"Malcolm's experience and expertise make him an ideal choice to lead our team, and build on the progress that was made during the Rio 2016 quadrennium," said Bruce Burton, President of US Sailing. "Malcolm has demonstrated an ability to win at the highest level, has been part of a winning system and can bring athletes and coaches together. Our team is on the rise, and with his leadership we will continue that ascent by building scale within our program, both in terms of numbers and in abilities."
Page is widely considered the most successful Olympic-class sailor in Australian history. He was honoured with a place on the Australian Institute of Sport's "Best of the Best" list in 2011, and in October 2016 was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
"I'm very excited to get back into the performance side of the sport, which is where I cut my teeth, and where my passion has always been," said Page. "I am looking forward to working with an ambitious group of American athletes and helping them realize their dreams. The US Sailing Team has an extraordinary history in Olympic sailing, with more medals won than any other nation. I know I can play a part in getting the United States back to the top."
Page most recently served as Head of Media for World Sailing, and prior to that worked as a Communications Consultant at the Australian telecommunications company Telstra. Page also brings extensive experience in athlete management to his new role, as he was the Chef de Mission for the Australian Team at the Pacific Games, served for seven years on the World Sailing Athletes' Commission and was Captain of the Australian Sailing Team from 2005-2012.
Page takes the reigns of a U.S. Olympic sailing program that has undergone significant changes in recent years, with increased resources directed towards both the national team and at reinvigorating US Sailing's youth development effort. Guided by the Project Pipeline strategic initiative, US Sailing's Olympic Development Program (ODP) was founded in 2015 and has already jumpstarted the performance sailing careers of hundreds of motivated American youth athletes. On the national team level, the US Sailing Team reached the podium in Rio 2016 with Caleb Paine's bronze medal in the Finn Class, and qualified for six medal races in ten classes.
"The U.S. does not lack for sailing talent, and I have no doubt that we can and will compete with the best," said Page. "Our challenge lies in finding enough resources and managing them well. I hate losing, and I want to give American athletes the chance to represent their country to the best of their abilities, as I was able to do in my own racing career."
Page will assume his new role on January 1st, 2017.