49erTeam Barrows-Henken

Barrows and Henken are the first Americans to bring home a medal in sailing since Caleb Paine’s Bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Ian Barrows grew up in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he began his sailing career in Optis. Quickly, he acquired a passion for the sport and transitioned to larger dinghies — 420s, Lasers, and Bytes. He competed nationally in high school competitions and internationally on the youth sailing stage. In 2017, Barrows graduated from Yale with a degree in Economics. While sailing at Yale, Barrows helped lead the team to eight National Championship titles and was named a four-time collegiate All-American and College Sailor of the Year in 2017.

After college, Barrows shifted his attention to an Olympic campaign, inspired by his brother, Thomas, who competed in two Olympic Games (2008 and 2016) and coached the Men’s 470 team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

A California native, Hans Henken began sailing at six-years-old in the Naples Sabot. He has competed at the highest levels of the sport since he was a junior sailor primarily racing 29ers, 49ers, the International Moth and most recently the hydrofoiling F50 on the global SailGP circuit.

Henken has spent the majority of his career competing on the U.S. Sailing Team in the 49er class with his goal of competing at the Olympics. From 2011 to 2015, he was a member and captain of the Stanford University Sailing Team and in his senior year was named Stanford Conference Male Athlete of the Year during the Cardinal’s most successful season. While competing with the Cardinal, he earned a master’s and bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, an invaluable resource to complement his sailing pedigree.

Barrows teamed up with Henken in 2021 with sights set on Paris 2024 and secured their ticket to Marseille by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Sailing in Miami in January of 2024.

Sailing Achievements: