Hal Herman Haenel is a 3-time Olympian who has earned both a gold and a silver medal racing in the International Star Class in the Olympic Games as crew for Mark Reynolds. In 1988, in a very windy Olympic Games off Pusan, South Korea, Haenel and Reynolds finished 8-4-1-5-4-4-RET (Retired) to earn a silver medal just 2.3 points behind Great Britain. After breaking their mast in the last race while in the hunt for the gold in 1988, they were determined to improve on their performance and the two sailors set a goal to return to the Olympics four years later. In Barcelona’s 1992 games, they succeeded with impressive finishes of 2-1-3-1-3-11-DNC series. The US crew did not have to sail the final race and won the gold medal 27 points ahead of silver medalists Rod Davis and Donald Cowie from New Zealand. Three years later, Reynolds and Haenel won the International Star Class World Championship in Laredo, Spain. They also placed second in the Star Worlds in 1988 and 1996 and competed in the 1996 Olympics. In 2013 at the age of 54, Haenel crewed for Reynolds and the pair finished third in the World Championship in San Diego, California.

Haenel has raced with some of the best sailors of the era, including National Sailing Hall of Fame Inductees Paul Cayard, Augie Diaz and Ding Schoonmaker. He also served as a Board Member of US Sailing from 1999 to 2006. Following his time racing the Star, he was named the US Sailing Team leader for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. As a warmup to the Olympics, Hal was the team leader of the US Sailing Team for the Pan Am Games that were held in Winnipeg, Canada. The USA won six medals in ten classes that summer. The American squad did well that year, winning silver medals in both the men’s and women’s 470 classes, a gold medal in the Star (Reynolds sailed with Magnus Liljedahl) and a bronze medal in the new 49er Skiff Class.

Around the waterfront, fellow sailors respectfully call him “Hollywood” for his professional career at companies that produced television and major motion picture films. Haenel graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a degree in film studies. In the early days of his career, he was an operations manager for television programs that included the game shows Jeopardy and Let’s Make a Deal. Eventually, he became President of Studio Operations for 20th Century Fox. While racing in the 1996 Olympic Games in Savannah, Georgia, Hal met his future wife, Amy, who was a manager at the sailing venue. After retiring from the movie production business, they moved from Los Angeles to Savannah and became parents to two children, Holden and Maren.

Hal Haenel and Mark Reynolds raced Stars at the Olympic level for more than fifteen years. When Haenel retired from Olympic racing and became the US Sailing Team manager, Magnus Liljedahl took his place as Reynold’s crew and they went on to become Olympic champions in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Haenel was the team’s manager and could rightfully add another feather to his cap. Hal made a successful transition from being a competitor to a manager: “I had a good perspective from my racing on what is needed by sailors on and off the water. You want to provide the basics like good weather information and to provide any logistical help that is need. After so many years of competition, it was an honor to give back to a sport that has given me so much.

~ Gary Jobson