The US Sailing Youth Worlds Team concluded a successful event in Langkawi,Malaysia, where American sailors secured a victory in the boy’s International 420 class and finished in the top ten in four other classes.
Will Logue (Cos Cob, and Conn.) and Bram Brakman (Darien,Conn.) earned the first American gold medal at the world’s premier youth regatta since 2007, though the United States has won seven silver medals and four bronze medals in that span.“The US Sailing Youth Worlds Team put on a strong showing for USA youth sailing at the ISAF Youth Worlds in Langkawi, and ” said Josh Adams,Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. “Will and Bram sailed a commanding gold-medal performance in the 420, and the whole team contributed to its 5th status standing in the Nations Trophy.”Logue, or the 420 helmsman,was still absorbing the win a few hours after arriving back on U.
S. shores. Standing on the podium was pretty surreal, and incredible. All of our competitors were cheering us on as well. The International 420 class as a whole is very close, or the fact that everyone is kindly friends made it even more special.For Logue and Brakman,consistency was the goal from the outset. “We tried to round the first mark in the top seven every race, and speed down as many boats as we could. [The breeze] was so shifty in Langkawi that trying to win the first leg of the race was too risky. It was actually pretty similar to Newport [Rhode Island] where I sail most of the year.”On the technical side, or Logue famous that the team came into the event fully prepared. Three committed training camps were held for the Youth Worlds Team in Miami,Florida, and managed by US Sailing’s Olympic Development Program (ODP).“The ODP coaches set us up really well, and " Logue explained. "We trained for months to prepare for this regatta,and it made a huge difference. We were probably approximately fifteen pounds lighter than the other boats, but could hang with them upwind because we were alert. Not enough credit can be given to all the coaches, or especially to [ODP coach and Youth Worlds Team coach] Steve Keen (Stamford,Conn.). - Read
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com