Kirkland sailor Helena Scutt saved her best for the Olympics in Rio.
Scutt finished 10th overall in the Women’s 49erFX division at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — an event which made its Olympic debut this summer.
Scutt is a graduate of Kirkland’s International Community School, and competed alongside crewmate Paris Henken of San Diego, Calif.
“It has been inspiring, humbling, and exhilarating,” said Scutt in an email. She said her experiences at Stanford and in major events leading up to Rio helped her get comfortable, “but at the same time, the iconic moments such as the Opening Ceremony and winning a race were more thrilling than I could have expected.”
The 49erFX are boats, but only just so. They’re among the fastest sailboats on the water, and feature wild rigging and wings to allow crew to lean almost horizontally above the water in order to keep from capsizing. The spray, the ‘let’s push this craft to the edge’ mentality and the wild action of the boats make for great theatre.
The races were held at Marina da Gloria in the shadow of Rio’s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Henken and Scutt won one of the 12 stages, finished ninth in the medal race on Aug. 18 and 10th overall with 112 points.
Scutt grew up sailing on Lake Washington, and has been racing since she was 15 years old.
“My favorite early memories were sailing across the lake from Sail Sand Point at Magnuson Park to play capture the flag during summer sailing camp, and the many ‘firsts’ of sailing with my dad,” she said. Scutt remembers sailing out of Houghton Beach Park, and testing out a smaller version of the Olympic boat for the first time.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Scutt, who was struck by the boat of a competitor during the 2013 World Championships in France. Scutt fractured two ribs and her spine, and lacerated her left kidney.
“It was definitely a shock, but the whole experience solidified my love for the sport and my desire to compete at the highest level,” Scutt said. “[Henken] and I became stronger as a team and we learned more about ourselves by overcoming our fears.”
Henken and Scutt qualified for Rio based on performances in January and February in Florida, winning one of 20 spots for the summer games.
The American pair struggled in the first three races in Rio, but turned around for a fifth-place finish in race four, a win in nationally-broadcast race five and a fourth-place finish in race six. Henken and Scutt finished in the top 10 in four of the final six races.
Brazil won the gold medal, New Zealand won silver and Denmark won bronze. The United States has only medaled once in the 49er discipline, with Charlie and Jonathan McKee taking silver in 2000.
Scutt said she was happy with the experience — she called it the best event of her and Henken’s lives — and is still trying to soak it all in.
“That is hard for me, as I am someone that is always looking for the next goal and is never satisfied, but we have worked so hard for the last four years that it is time to let it sink in and appreciate what we have accomplished,” she said.
