Bora Gulari injured in training accident prior to Nacra 17 Worlds
by Will Ricketson, US Sailing 31 Aug 2017 07:19 BST
30 August 2017
Bora Gulari © US Sailing Team Sperry / Jen Edney
US Sailing Team Nacra 17 athlete and Rio 2016 U.S. Olympian Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) suffered an injury during a training incident on Wednesday, as he and teammate Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.) were preparing for the upcoming Nacra 17 World Championship (September 5-10, 2017) in La Grande Motte, France.
Gulari lost part of three fingers on his right hand after he came in contact with the boat's rigging during a capsize in strong wind conditions. Gulari is currently recovering at a local hospital following surgery, and is expected to return to sailing in approximately four weeks.
"This is an unfortunate setback, but Helena and I will bounce back from this and continue our campaign for Tokyo 2020," said Gulari, a two-time Moth World Champion and the 2009 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the year. "I'll definitely be back on the water as soon as I'm able, which should be in about a month."
Italian Sailing Team coach Gabriele Bruni provided help to Gulari and Scutt immediately after the accident, with US Sailing Team coach David Howlett, who was assisting with running practice races, arriving a few minutes later. Scutt, who is also a U.S. Olympian, was uninjured in the incident. Scutt sailed the boat back to shore with help from Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist Santiago Lange (San Isidro, Argentina), who came out to the scene from onshore to assist.
"We are grateful for all the help and support we received today from the Olympic sailing community, and especially from our competitors and coaches who helped us on the water and after we got back to shore," said Scutt.
Gulari and Scutt will retire from the 2017 Nacra 17 Worlds, and focus on Gulari's recovery in the coming weeks.