Henry Marshall wins Byte CII North American Championship

Stuart, FL (March 1, 2014) – It was the third of racing for the Byte CII North American Championship being held out of the US Sailing Center Martin County. This event is also the continental qualifier for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games to be held this August in Nanjing, China.

Twenty-eight competitors from 14 countries left the beach in a light northeasterly. American Henry Marshall continued his dominance with three bullets as he clinched the championship that still had two races remaining on Sunday. “It feels good, it feels like a success,” beamed Henry.

Living just outside of Boston, Massachusetts where the temperature has not been above freezing for months, Henry had only sailed about 10 days since September. He credits his dedication to strength training to help him “on days like these” when the breeze was up.

Cristian Noe, head coach of the Argentina Olympic Team, is thrilled to be coaching Henry. The pair work hard to optimize the tuning of the boat. “We have spent a lot of time with the batten tension over the past several months to perfect the sail shape based on the breeze,” said Christian. “We find that video of our training has really helped show the sailors how every little mistake can add up to be a big difference.”

Going into the final day, four spots are up for grabs to qualify one’s country for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, with tensions running high as many are within reach of that goal. Since the USA and Canada boys have qualified, there is a tight race between Cayman, Bahamas, St Lucia and the British Virgin Islands. Bermuda and the Dominican have qualified on the girls side, leaving Cayman, USVI, Trinidad and Mexico in a battle.

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Click here for information about the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China

Report by Bob Adam