Every rep, every choice, every hour

The USA Olympic windsurfing program has been far from the podium since Mike Gebhardt medaled in 1992, but Makani Andrews is determined to change that. Here’s his update:

At the beginning of 2025, my team and I set a clear priority of winning the 2025 Junior Pan American Games. This event stood out because of what was on the line not just the title itself, but also securing two U.S. spots for the senior Pan American games later this year. From the start of January, this was circled as a peak goal for my year.

Coming back from two months in Europe after the senior world champs at the beginning of July, I knew I had to keep focused for this last stretch before heading to Paraguay for the big show. My focus was pushing my physical capabilities in the gym and dialing in my heart rate training so I could arrive at this event at my physical best.

In my final training block at home, my weeks were packed with five sessions in the gym, five sessions on the water with my home training partners Sammy (Perez Hults) and Danika (Sailor), plus the time it took to prep, recover, and debrief. It consumed around 80% of my week, but that’s what I felt it took for me to be prepared and feeling perfect coming into a special event such as this one.

The sacrifices this year have been real. This past month at home was one of the toughest so far. While practically all of my friends were packing their bags to leave for college and to start new chapters in their lives, instead of sharing every last moment with them, I was doubling down on my training in preps for this event.

Missing those moments with loved ones has been the hardest part of my campaign. But chasing something like the dream of an Olympic medal, I feel requires these kinds of sacrifices at times. Every rep, every choice, every hour, is an investment into this vision.

The event itself was anything but straightforward. Multiple times I was out of first place position by more than a point, with everything on the line. The stress in those moments was almost incomparable to anything that I have experienced in my sailing career before.

I remember in these times I would think back to past moments where I had been in the same situation and I was able to pull myself together, which helped a lot. Overcoming these moments was huge for me. In the final moments, I was able to step back into the driver’s seat and close it out.

Standing on the podium, when they awarded me the gold medal, my first feeling was reassurance. The acknowledgment of all the hours, sacrifices, and effort poured into this single moment. Winning the Junior Pan American Games and punching my ticket to the senior Pan Ams is more than just a victory but another step toward the ultimate goal of the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

I want to give a huge thank you to my family, my friends, Wind Club Hawaii, and America One Racing for making this dream possible. This medal belongs as much to them as it does to me.

Next up, I’ll be looking to qualify for my fourth and final Youth Worlds this November in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Another big step in the journey, and I’m ready to give it my everything once again.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program (July 16-28):
First Week – July 16-20
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA

Second Week – July 23-28
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7 – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6 – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470 – Los Angeles, CA
Men’s Skiff – 49er – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 – Los Angeles, CA