A month-long World Championship Marathon for the US Sailing Team in October
by US Sailing Team 11 Oct 2022 00:41 BST
October Schedule © Allison Chenard, USST
Like a 4th of July fireworks show finale, the month of October will serve as a grand conclusion for the 2022 Olympic sailing circuit, with four World Championships happening over the course of the month.
From Italy to Texas, France to Israel, athletes from the US Sailing Team and Olympic Development Program are putting the pedal to the metal to finish off the year's international racing calendar.
"It's going to be an interesting month with four World Championships across the spectrum of Olympic Sailing," said Paul Cayard, Executive Director of US Olympic Sailing. "Our athletes have been working hard all year and I know they are looking forward to the opportunity to race against the best in the World."
Read below for brief overviews of each of the four upcoming World Championships, and subscribe to our mailing list to get updates throughout the month of October.
Formula Kite World Championships
Poetto, Italy | Racing October 11-16 | Event Website
On the water for the US Sailing Team and Olympic Development Program:
- Markus Edegran, US Sailing Team
- Daniela Moroz, US Sailing Team
- Noah Runciman, Olympic Development Program
- Kirstyn O'Brien, Olympic Development Program
- Evan Heffernan, Olympic Development Program
All eyes are on Daniela Moroz, who has held the World Champion title for the last five years. But with Formula Kite now an Olympic discipline, the competitive landscape has changed since her first victory in 2016. The French and British kiters have proven fierce competitors, looking to chase Moroz's success.
"I'm definitely feeling the pressure, but I'm really confident in the preparation I did, especially over the last couple months," said Moroz. "I've been meeting with my sports psychologist regularly to help establish a good mindset going into this event and I'm more excited than ever for next week."
The Formula Kite fleet is hot off the European Championship in Nafpaktos, Greece where US Sailing Team athlete Markus Edegran posted his first top-10 finish in an international event. Earlier this year, Edegran secured his first international podium in Lake Garda, Italy, and has continued the upward trajectory ever since.
"I've put in a lot of good work this summer and it's great to see steady improvement on the results sheet even as the fleet continues to get hyper competitive," said Edegran. "It was great to take the momentum from earlier in the summer into the Europeans and put up a solid result just a week before the Worlds."
ILCA 6 World Championship
Kemah, Texas | Racing October 11-16 | Event Website
On the water for the US Sailing Team and Olympic Development Program:
- Charlotte Rose, US Sailing Team
- Christina Sakellaris, Olympic Development Program
It's back to familiar territory for US Sailing Team athlete Charlotte Rose at the ILCA 6 World Championship. Originally intended to be raced in Qingdao, China, the event was moved to Texas due to Covid restrictions in China - a welcome relocation for the recent college graduate and Texas native. Back in 2018, Rose won her second consecutive Youth World Champion title on Corpus Christi waters in the ILCA 6, a feat that hadn't been achieved in 10 years.
"Being back on home waters gives me a lot of nostalgia and brings back great memories from my youth career," said Rose. "I've been excited to show the international fleet my home and I take great pride in representing Texas at this World Championship. The squad has put in so many hours on and off the water the past few months and I'm really looking forward to showing our skills and the work we've been putting in at home."
iQFOiL World Championships
Brest, France | Racing October 17-22 | Event Website
On the water for the US Sailing Team and Olympic Development Program:
- Pedro Pascual, US Sailing Team
- Alex Temko, Olympic Development Program
- Dominique Stater, Olympic Development Program
- Noah Lyons, Olympic Development Program
The 2022 iQFOiL World Championships will be the first World Championships that Rio and Tokyo Olympian Pedro Pascual will compete in using the new foiling equipment.
"I had to be really efficient in my learning and how I approached our training sessions to make the most out of it," said Pascual about the transition from RS:X to iQFOiL. "It was intense at first - I fell a lot and took some hard crashes. By this summer, I got some tangible evidence of my hard work paying off, with solid performances at training regattas in Marseille, the Paris 2024 venue, and in Brest, where Worlds are taking place. I'm really excited to take on Worlds with the squad and leave it all on the water as a team."
470 World Championship
Sdot Yam, Israel | Racing October 24-29 | Event Website
On the water for the US Sailing Team & Oyster Bay 470 Team:
- Louisa Nordstrom & Trevor Bornarth
The 470 class is no stranger to the Olympic stage, dating back to the 1976 Montreal Summer Games, but the mixed discipline of one male / one female will make its debut in Paris 2024. US Sailing Team athletes Louisa Nordstrom and Trevor Bornarth have been training and racing together since before the Tokyo 2020 Games when the 470 was still one female boat / one male boat. The two have been climbing the scoresheets with their best performance last month at the 470 European Championship in Çesme, Izmir, Turkey -- a 13th overall finish and just 6 points out of the medal race.
"We're very happy with our finish at Europeans," said Bornarth. "We focused on taking it one race at a time and playing to our strengths. We had some great races in the light wind, but we also were happy with the improvements that we've made in windier conditions. We look forward to continuing the momentum at the World Championship in Israel."