Nancy Rios

{{Short description|American windsurfer (born 1988)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}

{{Infobox sailor

| name = Nancy Rios

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| full_name = Nancy Damian Rios

| nickname =

| nationality = {{USA}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|4|26}}

| birth_place = Orange County, California, U.S.

| hometown =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{cvt|1.57|m|ftin|order=flip}}

| weight = {{cvt|52|kg|lb|order=flip}}

| website =

| country =

| classes = Sailboard

| club = Banana River Windsurfing Resort

| coach = Brandon Sebald

| medaltemplates=

| show-medals = yes

}}

Nancy Damian Rios (born April 26, 1988) is an American former windsurfer, who specialized in the RS:X class.{{cite sports-reference |title=Nancy Rios |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ri/nancy-rios-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418105834/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ri/nancy-rios-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2020}} She finished fifth in her sporting discipline at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, and was eventually named the country's top female windsurfer for the 2008 Summer Olympics, finishing a lowly twenty-sixth place.{{cite news |author=Hamilton, Jon |title=Olympic Windsurfer Sails Her Way To The Top |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93176085 |publisher=NPR |date=August 2, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2020}}{{cite news |author=Marbut, Max |title=Local attorney has stake in Olympics |url=https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/local-attorney-has-stake-olympics |publisher=Jacksonville Daily Record |date=August 18, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2020}} A member of the sailing roster at Banana River Windsurfing Resort in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Rios trained under the tutelage of her personal coach Brandon Sebald.

Rios competed for the U.S. sailing squad in the inaugural women's RS:X class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.{{cite news |title=US Team Ready For Qingdao |url=https://www.sailing.org/news/4290.php#.XorpotMza8o |publisher=World Sailing |date=August 5, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2020}} Before securing one of the seven berths available at the Worlds in late January 2008, she topped the selection criteria in a three-way controversial battle against Karen Marriott and Farrah Hall at the U.S. Team Trials in Long Beach, California.{{cite news |title=West Coast Trials End With Cheers For The Winners, Tears For The Losers |url=https://www.sailing.org/news/5157.php#.XorritMza8o |publisher=World Sailing |date=October 15, 2007 |access-date=April 6, 2020}} Following the last of the 16-race regatta, Rios protested that her collision with Marriott and Hall ripped her sail and slowed her down towards the near end of the fleet. US Sailing favored Rio's appeal for redress, raised her cumulative score, and awarded her a spot on the team.{{cite news |author=Marbella, Jean |title=Smooth sailing for Olympic windsurfer Farrah Hall of Annapolis |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bs-xpm-2012-07-22-bs-sp-windsurfer-hall-0723-20120723-story.html |publisher=Baltimore Sun |date=July 22, 2012 |access-date=April 8, 2020}} During her maiden Games, Rios clearly struggled to catch a large fleet of windsurfers from behind under breezy conditions with marks lower than the top 20 and an unanticipated eighth-leg exit at the end of ten-race series, sitting her steadily in twenty-sixth overall with a net grade of 224. Moreover, Rios' cumulative score spared her from the bottom of the field by a slight, eight-point edge over Turkey's Sedef Köktentürk.{{cite web |title=Beijing 2008: Women's RS:X Class |url=http://www.2008.nbcolympics.com/sailing/resultsandschedules/rsc=SAW102000/standings.html |work=Beijing 2008 |publisher=NBC Olympics |access-date=September 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105145933/http://www.2008.nbcolympics.com/sailing/resultsandschedules/rsc%3DSAW102000/standings.html |archive-date=January 5, 2014}}