Youth Sailing World Championships Preview

The stage is officially set for the 2023 Youth Sailing World Championships in Armação dos Buzios, Brazil.

The 52nd edition of the event will take place from the 8-16 December with the world’s best young sailors battling for gold in 11 sailing classes.

Buzios last hosted the Youth Worlds at the Clube Armação de Búzios in 2009, with athletes returning to the popular holiday destination to get a taste of its rich sailing history.

Formula Kite

Kiteboarding extraordinaire and senior world champion Max Maeder of Singapore headlines the Formula Kite class.

The 17-year-old has soared into sailing folklore over the past few years and will be eyeing up his third successive Youth World title in Brazil after clinching the senior crown in The Hague earlier this summer.

Maeder defeated rival and 2022 world champion Toni Vodisek in the Netherlands to set a new record as the youngest world champion in any Olympic sailing class competition, at the incredible age of 16.

A new champion will be crowned in the female Formula Kite with none of the previous medal winners returning for the class’s third Youth Worlds outing.

 

420

Defending champions Maria Perello and Marta Cardona from Spain come into the female 420 as favourites as they try to claim Spain’s third title, and their second on the bounce.

The pair clinched gold in 2022 to continue Spain’s streak in the sailing class, following on from Neus Ballester and Andrea Perello’s 2021 success, whilst 2022 mixed 420 class winners Freddie Parkin and Asher Beck from the USA are also back in the boat.

 

Nacra 15

Last year’s Nacra 15 silver medallists and siblings from Spain, Daniel and Nora Garcia de la Casa will be looking to upgrade to gold in Brazil.

The brother-sister duo will face tough competition from two-time Nacra 15 European Super Series winners Marie Mazuay and Clément Guignard from Switzerland, the Swiss pair coming out on top in their most recent meeting.

 

29er

It’s a family affair in the 29er class as brothers Andrew and Tyler Lamm line up for the USA after clinching the US Youth Sailing Championships earlier this year.

They will not be the only brothers on the starting line though, with Spain’s Simon and Mateo Codoñer Alemany also in the mix after winning silver in the 2021 event in Oman.

However, all eyes will be on France’s Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux who grabbed Youth Worlds gold in 2021 and added the EuroCup series title to their belts earlier this year.

The 2022 silver medallist from France, Fleur Babin, has a new partner in the female 29er, making waves with Sarah Jannin this time out.

Competition will come from Slovenia’s Alja Petric who has teamed up with Tarin Pecar following a bronze medal winning performance alongside Katja Filipic in Oman.

ILCA 6

In the male ILCA 6, Luka Zabukovec of Slovenia is back on the water as the only previous medal winner in the event, whilst a relatively new field in the girls ILCA 6 will see a brand-new podium of medallists.

St Vincent’s Scarlett Hadley will make history as she competes in the boat, the first-ever sailor from her nation to compete in the event after a successful Pan American Games.

 

iQFOiL

The iQFOiL is back for its second instalment in Brazil, after making its Youth Worlds debut in The Hague last year.

Türkiye’s Merve Vatan and Slovenia’s Lina Erzen won silver and bronze respectively in 2022 and return with hopes of clinching gold in the absence of reigning champion Tamar Steinberg of Israel.

Boris Shaw of Great Britain won silver in the 2021 Techno 293 class but recently made the switch to iQFOiL and will be joined by his sister Darcey who will also compete in the iQFOiL.

Following on from Charlie Dixon’s gold in 2022, Shaw will be looking to make it two wins from two for British Sailing when he takes to the water in Brazil.