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JJ Fetter (formerly Isler) has competed equally against men at the highest levels in the sport of sailing. Her achievements in a wide range of disciplines, from college sailing to Olympic dinghy sailing to the international match racing circuit, have broken barriers and created opportunities for women in sailing.
JJ is (so far) the only American female to have won two Olympic medals (Bronze in ’92 with Pamela Healy and Silver in ’00 with Pease Glaser). She is also a multiple World and National Champion having won the IYRU Women’s Double-handed Worlds in 1986, the Women’s 470 Worlds in 1991, the Rolex Women’s International Keelboat Championships in 1987, the US Women’s Double-handed Championships in ‘88 and ‘96 and the US Olympic Trials in ’91 and ‘99. JJ also won the 470 European Championships in 1986 with Amy Wardell.
JJ was the first female skipper at many prestigious international match races and the highest ranked female in the world (she achieved an IYRU ranking of 18th in 1991 and stayed in the top 50 internationally for the next three years). In the US, she was 2nd in the Prince of Wales Bowl in 1990 and 3rd in the Knickerbocker Cup in 1988. She won several Women’s International Match Races such as the Portofino International Cup in 1990 and the Santa Maria Cup in 1991. She competed as the only female skipper (and often the first female skipper) in many international match races such as the Liberty Cup, Columbus Cup (first female skipper, 4th in 1991), Knickerbocker Cup (2nd in 1990), Bermuda Gold Cup, Grundig Cup in France and competed on many events on the Brut Match Racing Circuit: France (4th in 1995), NY and Australia. In 2000, she defeated Ben Ainslie to win the finals of the Laureus Match Race Regatta in Monaco. She has also had success in big-boat sailing. In 1997, she skippered the OD48, Windquest, to a class win and Boat of the Week honors at Key West Race Week.
JJ was the tactician and starting helmsman for the America3 Women’s team that competed in the America’s Cup Defender Series in 1994-1995. She raced on the all-women’s team for the first four round-robins, winning numerous starts against the Young America team and against ultimate winner Stars & Stripes (skippered first by Dennis Conner and then by Paul Cayard).
JJ continued to compete and win at the top level even after she became a mother of two. She competed in the 1993 Congressional Cup as the first female skipper while pregnant with her first child. JJ had her second daughter only one year before winning the US Olympic Trials in 1999 and both daughters were in Sydney to watch their Mom win the Silver medal. She has been the top women’s skipper in the J-24 Worlds and twice in the Etchells Worlds.
In 2015, she was inducted in the National Sailing Hall of Fame. She is a four-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year in ’86, ’91, ’97 and ’00 and was a nominee in several other years including being a close runner-up in ’87 (for winning the Rolex Championships) and in ’92 (when she won the US Olympic Trials in the Women’s 470 and the Bronze Medal in the Barcelona Olympics). In 2010 she was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame.
JJ started sailing at age 7 in the junior program at San Diego Yacht Club. She was a Collegiate All-American in 1985 (and Honorable Mention in 1984) while sailing for Yale University. In college, she was the co-ed team captain and was the Senior Trophy recipient for Sportsmanship.
She has coached youth sailing extensively, taught numerous clinics and written many articles about sailing including co-writing “Sailing for Dummies”. JJ has served as a Board Member of US Sailing, a member of the Olympic Sailing Committee and as the Chair of the International Selection Committee. JJ and her husband, noted naval architect John Reichel, live in San Diego.
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