With the Games of the XXX Olympiad just days away, several former UH-Manoa student-athletes will be competing for their respective nations. The series concludes today with Molly (O'Bryan) Vandemoer who will be leading the U.S. women's sailing team.

Eye On Olympics: Part 1
Eye On Olympics: Part 2
 
Former University of Hawai'i Rainbow sailor Molly (O'Bryan) Vandemoer, along with her two crewmates, captured the Women's Match Racing U.S. Olympic Qualifying Regatta in May and will represent the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics. The qualifying event was held at London's Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which will serve as the Olympic venue later this summer.
 
Team Maclaren—a three-person crew consisting of Vandemoer, Anna Tunnicliffe and Debbie Capozzi—bested the competition in head-to-head action during the semifinal and final knockout rounds to earn the Olympic bid. Four crews competed during the weekend, all of whom advanced from the first stage of the U.S. Olympic Qualifying Regatta last October. All four U.S. teams are ranked in the top 10 in the world, yet each nation is only allowed one boat per sailing event. Match racing will be making its Olympic debut this summer.

This will be Vandemoer's first Olympics, but the San Diego native is no stranger to success. She lettered four seasons for the Rainbow Wahine from 1997-01 where she earned all-America honors three times and skippered the 'Bows to the 2001 women's national title. The last Rainbow sailor to compete in the Olympics was John Myrdal who competed in the Laser class during the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia.
 
Team Maclaren enters as one of the favorites to take home the gold this summer. The crew is ranked No. 1 in the world after winning the ISAF Sailing World Championships in December and also earning gold at the past two World Cup events in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Hyeres, France.

The olympic sailing events begin Sunday, July 29 and run through Saturday, August 11.