Farrah Hall Update

In October, Farrah Hall, an Annapolis resident and a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the women’s RS:X class on the water, posting a low score of 29 points after 16 races over eight days. “It was one of the greatest feelings of my life,” said Hall, who secured the title by placing first in the final two races of the trials.

However, while Hall was calling family and friends with the good news, runner-up Nancy Rios was filing a request for redress that ultimately changed the final results. Rios claimed that a collision at the start of the 16th and final race caused her to finish fourth, and a jury agreed. Rios was awarded second place for Race 16, and the two-point improvement vaulted her past Hall into overall victory.

Hall, who was unaware of the redress hearing, was pulled out of a shower and brought to the jury room to hear the final decision along with Rios. Chairman Larry White told both competitors the jury thought Rios’s performance had been significantly hampered by the collision and that redress was warranted.
“I was stunned, speechless. One minute I was waiting for the awards ceremony to start, the next I was being told I was no longer the winner,” Hall said. “It all seemed like a bad dream.”

As it turns out, Hall had the right to request redress for herself within a half hour of hearing the decision and did not do so. It wasn’t until 24 hours later, after collecting her wits and talking with several experts, that she filed a formal request with the Olympic Sailing Committee.

White, the jury chairman, rejected Hall’s request for redress on the grounds it was not filed in a timely manner and there was insufficient evidence to warrant an additional review of the incident.

Following the Trials, Hall began researching and composing a formal grievance document. She returned to St. Mary’s College and trained on her board on the St. Mary’s River and at Point Lookout State Park in the mornings and swam with the college swim team in the afternoons. Early last month, Hall filed the formal grievance document and now awaits a response from the Olympic committee. In late November, she flew to Cyprus to train with the Polish Olympic Team for four weeks. She will return home for the holidays but is off again on January 3, bound for the World Sailing Championships in New Zealand.

Above: Farrah Hall at the Olympic Trials. Photo by Rich Roberts