RS-X Youth World Championship Gold for Hamilton

by Lindsey Bell on 4 Aug 2009 Bude schoolgirl Izzy Hamilton is on top of the world after winning gold at windsurfing’s RS:X Youth World Championship in Bodrum, Turkey, this weekend.

The 16-year-old is now Britain’s first ever windsurfing Youth World Champion after beating 30 other up and coming young stars to the RS:X Youth World title after six days of racing in the Turkish venue, adding gold to her silver medal from the multi-class Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Brazil last month.

Hamilton, who is a member of the RYA Volvo Youth National Squad, held her nerve after picking up a disqualification in one race early on in the regatta for crossing the start line early. But she bounced back in style to pick up six race wins across the twelve races and cement her position at the top of the leaderboard.

'The wind was around 15-20 knots towards the end of the week and those conditions really suit me so I was confident of a good finish,' explained Hamilton.

'I was really happy with my silver at the ISAF Youth Worlds, but now I’ve got the gold and am a World Champion, it’s just fantastic!'

Clevedon’s Ali Masters was the top ranking Brit in the 78-board boy’s fleet, finishing sixth overall. RYA Youth Racing Manager Duncan Truswell paid tribute to Hamilton’s success.

'I am really pleased to see Izzy deliver another excellent performance at a significant major regatta in such quick succession to the silver she won at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship at the beginning of July.'

'It is not easy to deliver consecutive peak performances at two of the biggest events of her life in the space of a month. To do so requires robust mental skills, routines and of course fitness – I am pleased to see that all the hard work she has put in, both alone down in Cornwall and with her coaches and the squad during training has paid off.

Truswell continued: 'I would like to add my congratulations to Dom Tidey and the small group of RYA National Windsurfing coaches who have worked with Izzy, they have been relentlessly passionate and professional in supporting her along the journey.'

Youth Women
Rank	Nation	Sail No	Class		Name
1	GBR	GBR30	Youth Women	F	ISOBEL HAMILTON
2	FRA	FRA10	Youth Women	F	LEONORE BOSCH
3	HKG	HKG28	Youth Women	F	LO SIN LAM
4	POL	POL104	Youth Women	F	KAMILA SMEKTALA
5	FRA	FRA57	Youth Women	F	HELENE NOESMOEN
6	FRA	FRA11	Youth Women	F	SYBILLE BOSCH
7	POL	POL09	Youth Women	F	AGNIESZKA BILSKA
8	GRE	GRE12	Youth Women	F	CHARALAMBIA ANTONATOU
9	GBR	GBR279	Youth Women	F	CLAUDIA CARNEY
10	POL	POL02	Youth Women	F	NATALIA WOJCIK
11	ISR	ISR127	Youth Women	F	YAEL DANIEL
12	ISR	ISR5	Youth Women	F	OFIR HALEVY
13	POL	POL717	Youth Women	F	MILENA RUDZINSKA
14	POL	POL1279	Youth Women	F	HANNA ZEMBRUSKA
15	ISR	ISR19	Youth Women	F	MAY MARKUS
16	GBR	GBR261	Youth Women	F	BECKY PLUMMER
17	POL	POL161	Youth Women	F	MARTA JACKOWSKA
18	GBR	GBR58	Youth Women	F	KIRSTEN O'CALLAGMAN
19	GBR	GBR9588	Youth Women	F	SOPHIE BAILEY
20	POL	POL1021	Youth Women	F	JOANNA HENSCHKE
21	ISR	ISR4	Youth Women	F	OMER SHACHAR
22	GBR	GBR717	Youth Women	F	JOANNA VANS
23	ISR	ISR31	Youth Women	F	NOA BAUZAGLO
24	ITA	ITA35	Youth Women	F	CATHERINE FOGLI
25	UKR	UKR1	Youth Women	F	LUSKA DROZD
26	HKG	HKG5	Youth Women	F	HEI MAN CHAN
27	CYP	CYP5	Youth Women	F	IRENE MAKEDONA
28	ITA	ITA209	Youth Women	F	CATERINA FARCHIONE
29	GBR	GBR650	Youth Women	F	LWOSAY SMITH
30	GER	GER932	Youth Women	F	LUISE ALBRECHT
31	TUR	TUR30	Youth Women	F	SIMLA CILINGIROGLU