Corpus Christi (KIII News) — Friday was the last full day of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships, and of the nine different sailing categories, U.S. teams placed in five of them.
14 American competitors rolled up their sails Friday after a week of strenuous competition. The CEP of U.S. Sailing said each one of them fully deserved to be at the World Championships.
"These young athletes have been sailing for most of their lives and this is the culmination of years and years of practice and commitment on their part, on their parents' part, their coaches," Gierhart said.
18-year-old Houstonian Charlotte Rose knows that firsthand. She said she sacrifices so much to be the best she can be.
"I train every weekend during the school year and then I miss a bunch of school for the weekend, so it's just a lot of time on the water," Rose said. "Also a lot of time in the gym to be fit enough to sail this boat."
It's paid off. Rose won the gold medal in the laser radio class, meaning she navigated courses in the ocean in a 13-foot-long boat with the fastest time. It wasn't her fist time doing it. She won the exact same title last year.
"No one has won it consecutive years in a row in the past 10 years, so I made history I guess, so it feels amazing," Rose said.
Sailors Walter Henery and J.C. Hermus also said they feel amazing. The 18-year-old duo won gold this year in the 420 class, a sailboat a bit bigger than Rose's that is controlled by two people.
"When we first qualified it was a tough battle. It came down to the last race, so that was a great feeling," Hermus said. "Then to get here and just end up winning it all, it was really just a relief. It was great."
Come time for the closing ceremony, U.S. Sailing expects to receive another gold medal in the girls' 420 class.
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