Being a youth sailor I have a lot of opportunities to sail against the top sailors in the world at venues that provide exciting and difficult challenges. I have the ability to sail at top youth events around the globe and can gain exposure at all the other events, giving me exposure to a greater number of athletes all the time.
Anyone that reads my blog on a regular basis knows that I am firmly resolved to win Gold at the Rio Games in 2016. That is going to happen! Between now and then there are several paths I can take to get to the US Trials and win. Being 16 years old, I have the opportunity to represent my country at the ISAF Youth World Championship and am currently gearing my training to win the US Trials for this event and to win at Youth Worlds in Portugal in 2014.
Following that event I will focus my efforts on qualifying for and winning at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto! This event will provide some unique challenges because it is sailed on a Hobie 16. This boat is completely different in design and function than the Viper F16 and Nacra 17 I spend most of my time training on. The Hobie 16 has a long history and a following of top sailors that are active in the class, so it will be exciting to race against many of those people as I train and move towards qualifying for the Pan Am Games.
Obviously the Olympic Games are sailed in the Nacra 17 and the US Trials will be sailed on that platform as well. So over three years, I will have the opportunity to race at the highest level and win titles in three different boats all leading up to my chance for Gold in Rio. I have researched a little on the Internet and have not been able to find anyone that has specifically followed this path and won these three international titles within a single Olympic quad. My guess is that someone over the years has done it, but I can’t find record of it specifically so I may be the first or at least the first that is specifically shooting for this Triple Crown of sorts!
Wish me luck and if you are looking for someone to spar with on the water (anywhere), give me a call!
Since you are reading this page, would you please help me achieve my goals and donate $10 to my campaign today? All you have to do is fill out that donation information on the right of this page and it will help a lot along my journey!
If you want to learn more about my campaign, here is a great place to start!