15 USA youth athletes in Brazil for Youth Sailing World Championship 2023

by US Sailing Team 7 Dec 2023 12:03 PST December 11-15, 2023

15 USA youth athletes in Brazil for Youth Sailing World Championship 2023 © US Sailing Team

One of the final regattas of the year to watch takes us to Búzios, Brazil for the prestigious annual Youth Sailing World Championship where 15 athletes will hit the water to represent the USA in classes that prepare youth for transitions to full size Olympic equipment.

Racing begins Monday, December 11th and continues through the 15th, 90 miles east of Rio de Janeiro.

2023 USA Youth Worlds Team

Tyler Lamm (Palm Beach, Fla.) & Andrew Lamm (Palm Beach, Fla.) - Male / Mixed 29er
Laura Hamilton (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) & Carolina Zager (Miami, Fla.) - Female 29er
Freddie Parkin* (Riverside, CT) & Asher Beck* (Cos Cob, CT) - Male / Mixed i420
2022 Youth Worlds Gold Medalists, i420
Callie Hammond (Larchmont, NY) & Ava Stevens (Darien, CT) - Female i420
Nicholas Mueller (Whittier, Calif.) - Male ILCA 6
Audrey Foley (Miami, Fla.) - Female ILCA 6
Makani Andrews* (Kaneohe, HI) - Male Youth iQFOiL
Sage Andrews (Kaneohe, HI) - Female Youth iQFOiL
Cody Roe (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) & Brooke Mertz (Parkland, Fla.) - Mixed Nacra 15
Mani Pahuatini (Kailua, HI) - Male Formula Kite

*denotes returning 2022 Youth Worlds Team member

2023 USA Youth Worlds Coaching Staff

Phil Muller, US Sailing Youth Performance Manager - Team Leader + Coach
John Casey - Coach
- 2023 Nacra 15 World Champion Coach
Steve Keen - Coach
- 2022 Mixed i420 Gold Medal Coach
Quinn Wilson - Coach

Ripe with talent and fresh off the annual 2023 Youth Thanksgiving Racing Camp with great sparring opportunities against training partners, the 15 are dialed in for an intense six days of racing. Like the Olympics, each country can only send one boat/board representative per class. The classes have changed over the years to either mirror current boats found in the Olympics, or that are identified as high-performance training versions that will prepare youth for Olympic classes down the road.

"The Youth World Championships is my favorite event in our sport," said Muller. "It's the most competitive in youth sailing as it draws the top talent from each participating nation. Our team here has been working hard at home over the past several months, and most recently at our 2024 Olympic Trials Venue in Miami, FL. We are eager to test our metal in Brazil."

"Thinking beyond performance," Muller continued, "this event is unique in how well it establishes our athlete's national pride as well as bonds of international camaraderie. These relationships last a lifetime. As a coaching staff, we are thrilled to support our young talent as they put their best effort forth this week."

Not many athletes get the opportunity to compete at two Youth Worlds, and very few enter a second Youth Worlds as defending champions.

"It's a great honor and Asher and I are very excited to get a second chance to compete," said 2022 Youth Worlds i420 Gold Medalist, Freddie Parkin. "It's been a year and a half since we won in The Netherlands, but we've practiced and raced a lot since then and feel we have continued to improve under both great coaching of Steve Keen and by being pushed by a very strong US training group. The biggest challenge will likely be if we get a large ocean swell as we hardly ever sail in those conditions. But we're ready to go and are grateful for the final training at the Youth Thanksgiving Camp to get us in the racing mindset."

Schedule: