Sailing for Gold
BY W.B. FRESA
P
ittsburgh is a city of legendary sports heroes, and Anna
Tunnicliffe Tobias is hoping to add her name to that roster
of athletic greats. But unlike Palmer, Marino or Dorsett,
her dreams didn’t take place on the field in front of scores of
adoring fans—they unfurled on the high seas, in a sailboat,
measuring wind and watching water, pacing herself, tightening
her grip and sailing to victory.
Now 11 years and many championship titles later, she’s
competing again and joined by teammate Paris Henken.
They’ve set their sights on earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic
Sailing Team and winning gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in
Tokyo.
“I’m lucky enough to have already won a gold medal in the
2008 games in Beijing, China, and it was the thrill of a lifetime,”
says Tobias. “I was so proud to be representing my country in
a sport I love, and to have worked so long and hard then finally
see my goal realized was amazing.”
That feeling of pride and competitiveness has brought Tobias
back to the sport she learned about as a child.
Born in England, her family moved to the United States,
Ohio to be exact, when she was 12. Several years later they
moved to the Pittsburgh area and it has been her home
ever since. She and her husband, Brad, own T2 CrossFit in
Bridgeville, where they help others reach their athletic goals.
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“My family had a 40-foot yacht when we lived in England and
they loved to sail. We would travel up and down the English
coast. Oddly enough, it wasn’t a big interest for me as a kid,
but once we got to America, I gained a new respect for the
sport,” Tobias recalls. “I was on the sailing team in college at
Old Dominion. I won four national titles for the school and
was named 3-time Women’s All American, 1-time co-ed All
American and Quantum College Sailor of the Year.”
All these accomplishments eventually led her to international
racing. She competed in her first Olympics in 2008 and won the
gold medal for the U.S. in Laser Radial sailing, a one-person-
operated sailboat. From there, she moved on to team-style match
racing, coming in fifth in the 2012 Olympics in London.
Several years later, Tobias felt the call of sailing once again.
She knew about Paris Henken because she had been competing
against her since 2013.
“I’d been racing team-style for a while and when I met
Paris, we hit it off. She and I were both looking for racing
partners,” explains Tobias. “When it comes to a partnership
in racing, you need to have drive, discipline, and trust. One
person is the skipper and drives the boat while the other is the
crew and handles the sails. There needs to be trust and good
communication between team members. Paris and I have found
all of that in each other.”
Anna Tunnicliffe Tobias, a 2008 Olympic Gold
Medalist and owner of
gold medalist
T2 CrossFit
CrossFit in in Bridgeville,
Bridgeville, plans
plans her
her return
return to to the
the Olympic
2020 Olympic
T2
Games Games.
in 2020.