Read our exclusive interview with Olympian Lara Dallman-Weiss, following her and teammate Stu McNay’s victory at the US Olympic 470 Trials!
Q&A with Olympic Sailor Lara Dallman-Weiss
How it all started
TCO: Let’s start off learning a bit about your sailing background, prior to your first Olympic Games in 2020.
LDW: For sure….Well I grew up sailing on White Bear Lake in Minnesota. I was a total lake sailor! My parents were the ones that really influenced me to get into sailing. As a self-taught sailor, my dad was the perfect one to motivate me to work hard and to learn on my own. When I was younger, I would jump at the chance to sail every summer on any type of boat available as long as it was with friends. I gradually moved into sailing bigger regattas in the Twin Cities. In the summers, I would travel to places in the mid-west like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota for racing. Just summers though, because of the freezing weather.
I was never part of a big Opti type program or anything like that. I never traveled nationally or even internationally for sailing in my early years. I was more focused on basketball, running and dance during the school year, but I always made time to sail during the summers. Sailing was one thing that I really looked forward to competing in.
After high school, and a painstaking amount of time weighing the pros and cons, I made the decision to attend college at Eckerd in Florida. This decision was made even though I was super close to accepting a running scholarship in Wisconsin. At the last minute, I made the change to head to Eckerd instead.
TCO: Why the last-minute change to attend Eckerd in Florida instead of going to Wisconsin and staying in the midwest?
LDW: Deep down I knew that I needed to get away from home, leave my safe zone, and do something that completely terrified me. So, Florida checked that box.
TCO: When you decided to go to Eckerd were you planning to sail there?
LDW: There was no doubt I loved sailing, but I was a bit apprehensive, as I had not been a competitive sailor before
college. College is where I started becoming much more competitive and realized how much I loved the sport of sailing. I will never forget when one of my college sailing coaches said to me, “Hey, what about the 470? You are the perfect size for the boat, and they race them in the Olympics.” I just remember, laughing and saying, “What, seriously, there is sailing in the Olympics?!!?”
Olympic Dreams
TCO: Was that the moment when you decided that being an Olympian was something you wanted to pursue?
LDW: Absolutely! I grew up loving the Olympics. I was obsessed with the track events and loved all of the Winter Olympic events. In the back of my mind, I always dreamed of being an Olympian, but my dreams were to be an Olympic basketball player. Not even in my wildest thoughts, did I think I would go to the Olympics in sailing. I wasn’t the one winning regattas growing up. I was more the one winning awards for being the youngest skipper, the only female, or having the most fun…and other accolades like that. In college though, my competitive “being” just came out, and I became 100% focused on sailing.
After graduation, I was completely focused on becoming an Olympic sailor. That’s when my parents recognized my determination, and helped me buy my first boat, a 470 which was sailed in the 1996 Olympics. It was a super old training boat, but I was determined to make it work. At the time, I didn’t have the money to travel around or hire a coach, but that boat taught me a lot about how to treat my own equipment. With this old boat, I essentially learned about the 470 and how to rig and tune it from scratch because there weren’t many guides available in the US, no shortcuts. Now I always advise young sailors to buy their first boat already rigged from a good team so you can learn from them and ask questions.
Eventually, like lots of sailors, I ran out of money, so I turned to pro-sailing for about five years. I absolutely loved professional sailing. I got to travel around to so many places and meet some awesome people. Through those experiences, I came to learn I wanted to be in control of my own program, my own training, and everything that entailed. Soon after, I was introduced to Nikki Barnes, and that’s when we started our campaign for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
TCO: With so many great memories of sailing, what is one that sticks out in your mind the most?
LDW: Looking back the Olympic dream has always burned in me. However, just after college, there was the thought: “Is this what I should be doing? Is this the right life path?” At one point, I was seriously close to changing my path completely and taking a job in San Francisco as an analyst. Then I met Nikki. Shortly after meeting Nikki, I went back home for a family visit. While home, I was helping my dad on race committee, and there was no wind. So, I decided to take a run around the lake and stopped by a long-time mentor’s house. I asked his opinion on what he thought I should be doing with my life. He encouraged me to go to my parents and ask them the question: “What did I love to do as a child?” Between his direction and the support of my parents, I realized how much I loved being an athlete and being involved in multiple sports. After a lot of searching and encouragement, I knew an Olympic future was what I truly wanted.
"You can’t let outside distractions disturb your focus to the challenges ahead"
TCO: Speaking of your pursuit of being an Olympian, tell us a bit about the 2020 games in Japan. How was the entire experience leading up to it and when you were in the middle of the competition?
LDW: Well, building up to the games, it was never a sure thing. It was like when you want something so badly, and you know it is going to be so amazing, but you don’t want to get too excited and jinx it! Everything was so unsettled due to the COVID pandemic. After our final qualifier, which was the World Championships, we still didn’t know if we were actually going to the Olympic Games until a week before. From the time we qualified until the time we started the first race at the Olympics, rumors flew around, and we heard different things daily: maybe the US is not going, maybe the games will be cancelled, now the games are happening, etc, etc. It was mind numbing and endless. I was continually getting excited, but until we raced the first race, I was just focused on staying positive.
TCO: With all those different thoughts going on, was it difficult to keep your mindset on the Olympics and the competitions ahead?
LDW: It is much like it is now, it is complete go time! You can’t let outside distractions disturb your focus to the challenges ahead. I find it easier to keep my mind focused on little things. I have an overall picture of our equipment, training, nutrition, budget, etc. Beyond that, it’s staying focused on the routine. I’ve worked so hard building a routine to help me stay in the present moment. It is important to be able to deal with everything individually and hope they all come together in competition.
How the pros train
TCO: How do you and Stu break up your training, both on the water and off as you are approaching the games?
LDW: We actually do not train together off the water. We both have individual trainers. We did have my trainer come out to France in October to train with us. Then we worked out together, which was fun, but we have totally different programs. When I am competing overseas, I regularly Facetime with my trainer so he can coach my form and program my lifts based on the equipment found in the gym. When I am home, I lift 3 days a week and cycle or box. For sailing, we are on the water an average of 4 to 5 days a week with our coaches.
TCO: What are some experiences or lessons which you took away from the 2020 games that you will bring with you to Paris this year?
LDW: Lots! Something I took from Nikki was her excitement for everywhere we travelled. We both shared the love of experiencing new places and cultures. I know that there are a lot of people in the pro-sailing world that complain a lot: it’s too cold, it’s too hot, the sea conditions are bad…. Nikki and I always had the mindset: who can we meet? what can we discover? We would channel the negative into a positive and have an all-around great experience. One super important thing that
I learned from Pam Healy is to be aware that at major events like the Olympic Trials or the games itself, the skipper is under a tremendous amount of pressure. As a crew, you need to take that stress into consideration and help manage that stress.
Outside the olympics
TCO: Outside of the Olympic games, what is a regatta that sticks out most in your mind?
LDW: Oh, 100% the Bucket Regatta in St. Barth’s!! There is nothing like that experience! I have to say though that competing in the mid-west is the best. It’s such a great place to sail and a totally different experience than most places. There is just something cool about being on the lake racing and seeing people come out of their houses to watch. Everyone that comes to the regattas gets housed by the locals. It is such a different culture, and it is so much fun when everyone in the area comes together for the nightly festivities.
TCO: With all the extensive travel that you have done for sailing, what would you say one of your favorite venues is?
LDW: I have two. I used to match race on the Women’s tour. One year we went to Cork, Ireland, and I fell in love with it. We stayed with a host family. The food we ate was all local and homemade. There were no CVS stores or anything like that, so we were 100% dependent on our hosts for everything. Racing in those waters were some of the most gnarly moments I have ever experienced! We were racing J/80’s, and they took off all the lifelines and removed the forward hatch. Of course, I was on the bow, getting slammed by huge waves and freezing water. I loved all of it!
My other favorite was sailing in Japan. What an awesome experience that was! The sea conditions and wave patterns made it fun. A few times I even saw sharks while we were sailing. Watching them swim next to the boats was beautiful. They weren’t threatening at all and just looked like they wanted to have fun surfing the waves like we did.
Travel Challenges
TCO: Again, having traveled so extensively with your sailing career, what have been some of your biggest challenges when competing in an unfamiliar place?
LDW: The hardest thing for me, unbelievably is getting used to different food. I have worked with my nutritionist to come up with a “master list” of what I like to eat. Then, we find out what the equivalent of that is depending on the country that I will be racing in. She helps me make up my grocery list, which helps a lot with eliminating the stress of eating strange things.
By far though the most stressed I have ever been while travelling was driving a stick shift! Nikki and I rented a manual car to drive from Italy to Austria, and I was new to driving a manual car. I wanted to see Lake Garda, and at the north end of the lake there was a super steep, switchback road. The traffic started to stop, and I just remember sweat pouring off me, fearing that I was not going to be able to get up the hill if the traffic kept stopping!
TCO: What is something that you never leave home without when traveling?
LDW: (laughter)…I have a stuffed animal. His name is Kenny. He’s a dog. I want a real dog so badly, but I can’t have one. He is my buddy, and he makes a great neck pillow on the plane.
(During the interview, I even got a brief peek at Kenny!!)
TCO: You must meet your fair share of people when traveling, while competing or not, do you often keep in contact with them?
LDW: Oh, for sure, right off the bat one of my closest friends that I have made is Steph Roble! We have such a parallel life; I love the fact that she lives right next door here in Coconut Grove. We have awesome conversations about the FX and the 470’s. She gives me a skipper perspective, and I give her a crew perspective. We talk just about anything that comes up regarding travel. Our friendship is so important to both of us.
Also, Nikki and I became close with the Dutch team when we were training with them. Even though the crew has since retired, we remain friends, and that’s how life on the road works. We spend a lot of time with our training partners, and they become some of our closest friends!
TCO: With all the traveling, what’s your number one piece of advice for travelers?
LDW: HYDRATE like it’s your job and prepare your own food! The second part of that can be a huge pain, and a lot of work, but totally worth it, especially when you are in training.
TCO: When you are traveling for regattas, do you try to take time to explore areas that you are visiting? Maybe get out and enjoy some adventures?
LDW: In Olympic sailing, I don’t think that there is ever a moment that I feel rested enough to explore much. When I am in training mode, I am in full focus mode, and I don’t usually have rest days. Although, when I was racing with the FARR 40, “Flash Gordon”, they were such a fun team and a great culture of people to be around. They would often say after racing or training, “Hey we are in Capri (or wherever), and when we get off the water, we are going to hike up a mountain.” Or “There is a really cool restaurant about an hour away, let’s take the drive and go enjoy.” I always remember feeling appreciative after sailing with them. You know that you are tired, you know that you need sleep, but you just need to push yourself to go out, and socialize, sight see, explore. It doesn’t happen very often, but I try to take advantage of the times when the opportunity comes around.
Getting to Paris 2024
TCO: You and Stu have qualified in the 470 for the Games in Paris this year, what is the next step in getting the US to qualify for the Games?
LDW: Yes, the US does still have to qualify the nation. We have two chances to qualify the USA; one is the Worlds which is coming up at the end of March in Palma. We would need to finish as the top North American team to qualify the nation. As of right now there are no other North American teams, or Caribbean teams entered, so if it stays that way, we will get the spot. If another North American or Caribbean team enters, then we will have to fight for the position. Beyond that, there is another last chance regatta in Hyeres, France where I think four more country slots open.
Training 101
TCO: With just about six months left before the 2024 games, where do you think your strengths are and what are some of your challenges coming into the last stretch?
LDW: Our strength is literally in our strength! Building muscle is such an important part of the training and conditioning. I remember when we were in Tokyo and seeing everyone walking around and recognizing how much everyone’s bodies had transformed over the previous year. It was really cool and impressive. Everyone was just on top of it.
The last several weeks Stu and I have focused our training on the water. It is easy to lose sight of gym training, but it is especially important to focus on body strength at this point.
Another one of our attributes is the strength within our team. We are in-tune with our training, our communication and especially our routine. We – Stu, Coach Robby and I – all need to be able to lean on each other and count on each other.
We still have a bit of work to do with our equipment. Stu and I both had our ways of setting up the equipment and the boat with prior teams, so we have really come together to take each of our strengths and collaborate them together to find a new tuning method that works well for us both. Taking into consideration our body size and techniques, we have evolved with a system that works well for us as a team.
"Our strength is literally in our strength!"
TCO: Again, with the games just about six months away, what does your training schedule look like? How many days on the water and how many days training on land?
LDW: When we are in a training block, there will be anywhere from 4 to 5 days on the water, 2 days off, or it could even be 7 or 8 days on, 1 day off. It depends on how we feel and how close to a regatta we are. As far as the gym, we usually go 2 to 3 days a week. I prefer to hit the gym at night, so I can give everything I have while on the water. In addition, I love to cycle on the side, and Stu loves to climb – when we travel, he can always find a climbing gym……he has crazy upper body strength!!
What free time??
TCO: So just a little about you off the water. I did some research and saw that you are an Ambassador for the Sailors for the Sea program. Can you give a little overview about the organization and what their goals are?
LWD: I sure am! They are a fantastic organization that has so much going on. One of the really cool avenues that I like, is that they educate people on many aspects of boating in general. They do an amazing job teaching race organizers how to run clean regattas. I am fairly new to the Ambassador position, but my role is to promote the Sailors for the Sea and make sure that the word is getting out with all of the great work that they are doing. It is something that is just so important and close to me personally.
TCO: What are some fun things that you like to do when not competing or in training mode?
LDW: Nothing beats watching a good Netflix show! But seriously, it just becomes time in the gym, catching up with friends and family and sailing. Unfortunately, there is not too much free time, with all what we have talked about, in addition to the fundraising, budgeting, managing funds and most importantly, planning for what is next.
"Many Opti parents ask how they can make their kids better sailors. I encourage them to make sure that their kids are exploring other sports while sailing."
After Paris.....
TCO: Speaking of what’s next, what are the plans for you after Paris?
LDW: I think that it is always super important to have something in the works, whatever that maybe, so I have a few ideas but nothing concrete. I love teaching people about the sport, I really enjoy speaking to people about the sport and my journey. I do know that I am going to need a big break. After Tokyo, I was dead to the world for about a month. When you give your soul to the Olympics, it just takes so much out of you.
I had recently been doing some stuff with the Women’s Americas Cup Team. Unfortunately, I was the last sailor to get cut, but I am still holding on to that opportunity and the foiling world in general. I would love to be involved with a well-funded team like that. Beyond that, I know that I do not want to coach. I have coached a lot in my life, and I think that I am done with that. I just love being an athlete.
Who knows, there is always Los Angeles 2028!! I feel that if I do commit to 2028, I will be committing to a life of being an Olympic sailor, so we will just have to see how things play out. I guess stay tuned!!
TCO: Lara, thank you for taking the time this morning, I know that you have a ton on your plate right now. Just one last question, what piece of advice would you give to an aspiring Olympic athlete?
LWD: That’s easy…. make sure that you play and try other sports. That was so important in my sailing career. I learned so much from being involved with other sports. I learned discipline from my dance teachers. I learned the importance of team culture from my basketball and track teams. You can never stop learning. Right now, I am enjoying learning how to play tennis, wing-foiling, and boxing.
Many Opti parents come up to me and ask how they can make their kids better sailors. I encourage them to make sure that their kids are exploring other sports while sailing. They can bring something from almost all sports back into sailing.
The Zig Sailing Insider team is rooting for you and Stu in Paris! We will be watching as you guys represent the US again! Best of luck to you, and I look forward to catching up after the games!
-Ty Christopher Olsen, February 4, 2024
