Benjamin Barger Explained

Ben Barger
Full Name:Benjamin Oden Barger
Birth Date:24 December 1980
Birth Place:Greenville, Texas, U.S.
Weight:730NaN0
Classes:Sailboard
Club:St. Petersburg Yacht Club
Coach:Mike Gebhardt (USA)
Aaron McIntosh (NZL)
Show-Medals:yes

Benjamin Oden Barger (born December 24, 1980) is an American former windsurfer, who specialized in the RS:X class.[1] He was a seven-time national champion in his sporting discipline, an unofficial alternate for two Olympic teams (2004 and 2012), and the country's top male windsurfer for the 2008 Summer Olympics, finishing a lowly twenty-sixth place.[2] Outside competitive sailing, Barger served for four years as both the board trustee and chairman of the ISAF Athletes' Commission (2009 to 2013).[3] A member of St. Petersburg Yacht Club and a current resident of Tampa, Florida, Barger trained most of his sporting career under the mentorship of two-time medalist Mike Gebhardt; however, the pair announced their split professionally, when Gebhardt came out of retirement for another shot at Olympic glory in 2007.[4]

Barger competed for the U.S. sailing squad in the inaugural men's RS:X class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[5] Building up to his Olympic selection, he beat his former coach Gebhardt by eight points to lock the country's top RS:X spot at the U.S. Team Trials a year earlier in Long Beach, California.[6] Barger clearly struggled to catch a large fleet of windsurfers from behind under breezy conditions with marks lower than fifteenth place at the end of ten-race series, sitting him steadily in twenty-sixth overall with a net grade of 217.[2] [7]

Notes and References

  1. Ben Barger . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418074936/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/ben-barger-1.html . dead . April 18, 2020 . April 5, 2020.
  2. News: Barger has good day . . August 19, 2008 . April 6, 2020.
  3. News: From Busan: Ben Barger On The Athletes' Commission . . November 6, 2009 . April 6, 2020.
  4. News: From Fort de Soto to China . . October 19, 2007 . April 6, 2020.
  5. News: US Team Ready For Qingdao . . August 5, 2008 . April 6, 2020.
  6. News: West Coast Trials End With Cheers For The Winners, Tears For The Losers . . October 15, 2007 . April 6, 2020.
  7. Web site: Beijing 2008: Men's RS:X Class . . . September 5, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140105145933/http://www.2008.nbcolympics.com/sailing/resultsandschedules/rsc%3DSAM102000/standings.html . January 5, 2014.