CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (July 19, 2018) – Geronimo “Momo” Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.) became the first member of Team USA to clinch a gold medal at the 48th annual Youth Sailing World Championships.
The 18-year-old sailor secured gold in the Boys’ RS:X Class by finishing 1-3-1 in today’s racing. He has the low score of 16 points, good for a 7-point lead over Italian Nicolo Renna. With his discard currently a fourth, Nores can’t be overtaken in the class.
“It feels great. I’m very excited,” said Nores. “All of the preparation we did in terms of windy sailing, non-windy sailing, board preparation, gear preparation, coaches… it all came together. Sometimes it comes together, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m lucky that this is one of the times that it did.”
Nores only resumed sailing a few months ago after spending close to eight months being diagnosed with a severe case of diabetes. He was racing in Europe last year when the disease put him in a hospital bed for a week. He has a working canine, Luna, by his side at all times to alert him if his blood sugar levels drop dangerously low and also wears a patch on his arm to help regulate the levels.
“This is my first international podium in a while,” said Nores. “For everything to work out is a long time coming. There’s a lot of personal satisfaction in this.”
Nores wasn’t the only one to secure a gold medal today. Next to clinch their class was Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) in the Girls’ Laser Radial Class. Rose won both races today and holds an unassailable 11-point lead over Emma Savelon of the Netherlands.
Upon returning to the boat park Rose plopped down on the pavement and let out a big sigh. Her hands were torn to shreds.
“I’m exhausted,” said Rose. “My ratchet block broke in between races and we didn’t have time to replace it. I was just hanging on for the second race.”
The ratchet block helps prevent the mainsheet from running out when the sheet is loaded. That Rose was able to sail without it in 18- to 22-knot winds is testament to her strength and determination—she was last year’s gold medalist and focused on making history.
“No one in the past 10 years has won this class twice in a row, so it’s a great feeling,” said the 17-year-old Rose. “In my head I put in so much time and effort that I know I deserve to win it as much as anyone else.”
Next, JC Hermus (Bellport, N.Y.) and Walter Henry (Syosset, N.Y.) clinched gold in the Boys’ 420 Class after finishing 1-5 today. The fifth-place finish becomes their discard and they have the low score of 10 points, good for an 11-point lead over last year’s gold medalists Otto Henry and Rome Featherstone of Australia.
“It feels great,” said Henry. “Everything came together at this event. We’ve been sailing together for two years and have had lots of ups and downs, but it all paid off.”
Hermus had to lose 18 pounds in the past month in order to weigh in for the regatta.
“Losing weight was the sacrifice,” said Hermus, who’s on leave from the U.S. Naval Academy. “I lost the weight through dieting and running. I guess the Navy helped a bit that way.”
In the Girls’ 420 Class Carmen and Emma Cowles (both Larchmont, N.Y.) won both races and are poised to capture their second consecutive gold medal. They hold an 11-point lead over Vita Heathcote and Emilia Boyle of Great Britain.
In the Girls’ 29er Class, Berta Puig (Miami, Fla.) and Bella Casaretto (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) moved into second after finishing 1-6-4 today. They have 48 points total and a 3-point cushion over Russians Zoya Novikova and Diana Sabirova in third place.
In the Nacra 15 Class, Nico Martin (Houston, Texas) and AnaClare Solé (Houston, Texas) moved up to eighth place from 10th after posting a 6-6-1 on the day.
“We finally had a good start and were able to get out to the right side of the course,” said Martin. “Our starts have gotten better as the week has progressed.”
In the Girls’ RS:X Class Dominique Stater (Miami, Fla.) is placed 13th in what amounts to an experiential regatta. Stater will represent the U.S. at the Youth Olympic Games in October in the Techno 293 sailboard class. The RS:X is a bigger board and rig than the Techno 293 so this regatta could pay dividends in a few months’ time.
“I came here for the experience and I’ve been improving every day. So that’s good,” said Stater. “My starts have improved greatly and my sailing in general is improving.”
In the Boys’ Laser Radial Class, Chase Carraway (Wrightsville Beach, N.C.) held onto fourth place after finishing 3-10. He lies 11 points behind third-placed Zac Littlewood of Australia and 3 points ahead of fifth-placed Guido Gallinaro of Italy.
In the Boys’ 29er Class Charlie Hibben (Concord, Mass.) and Nicholas Hardy (Newton, Mass.) are place 19th.
The Youth Sailing World Championship concludes tomorrow with one race scheduled for all nine classes. And you can bet that Nores, Rose and Hermus and Henry will be on the racecourse along with the rest of the team looking to close out what could be the best performance ever by a U.S. team at the Youth Worlds.
For complete results please visit the Youth Worlds results page.
For More Information
Sean McNeill
Press Officer
Phone: +1 401 662 1501
Email: youthworlds2018@gmail.com
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