Armit collects more silverware at Laser Radial youth worlds

Armit collects more silverware at Laser Radial youth worlds


The achievements keep coming for Josh Armit and overnight (NZ time) he finished second at the Laser Radial youth world championships in Germany.

That silver medal comes on the back of the gold he won in the Laser Radial at last month's youth sailing world championships in the United States and gold he collected in the under-17 division of last year's Laser Radial youth worlds.

Armit battled at times during the week, finishing 26 points behind Italy's Guido Gallinaro, but it was a measure of his potential that he was still able to walk away with a silver medal. He was forced to retire from race eight after picking up his second yellow flag of the regatta, which put a big dent in his ambitions of winning overall, and often found himself playing catchup in the sometimes light and tricky conditions.

"He was fighting all the way," said Tom Saunders, who coached all five New Zealanders competing in Kiel. "Things weren't quite going his way but he never gave up and managed to grind his was through and ended up with an awesome result. He should be really proud of the way he sailed.

"He's got plenty of talent. He's very dedicated and motivated to be the best and get the most out of his sailing. He's a bright prospect for the future and is still pretty young, which is exciting."

Armit turns 17 in December, meaning he was ineligible for the under-17 division which he dominated last year, but this year's achievement is arguably more impressive. He's still eligible to sail in the youth classes for another year if he wants to and Saunders said Armit came in for plenty of attention during the week.

"He had a target on his back," said Saunders, who is a member of the NZL Sailing Team and who next month will compete at the World Cup regatta at the Olympic venue in japan. "That was a pretty convincing win for him at the youth worlds and everyone was watching him, maybe including the jury."

Luke Cashmore (35th) and Albert Stanley (48th) both made gold fleet at their first major championships and Samantha Stock, who flirted with the top 10 at times in the girl's fleet, was 22nd.

Results and standings after the final day of the Laser Radial youth world championships in Kiel, Germany, today:

Boys (269 boats)

1st: Guido Gallinaro (ITA) 9 7 9 2 3 2 8 (10) 7 6 6 - 58 points
2nd: Josh Armit (NZL) 1 3 12 7 3 13 12 (69 RET) 6 5 22 - 84 pts
3rd: Francesco Viel (ITA) 5 1 15 2 11 2 18 17 18 2 (52) - 91 pts

35th: Luke Cashmore (NZL) 19 17 13 36 7 4 19 (54) 44 37 39 48 - 226 pts
48th: Albert Stanley (NZL) 5 27 25 23 10 51 13 53 35 12 (56) - 254 pts
231st: Ryan Harden (NZL) 50 (69 BFD) 64 64 61 59 31 8 4 21 - 362 pts

Girls (96 boats)

1st: Matilda Talluri (ITA) 3 10 7 1 4 5 13 1 4 12 (34) - 60 pts
2nd: Matilda Nicholls (GBR) (49 BFD) 4 2 19 5 3 5 2 10 9 13 - 72 pts
3rd: Ana Moncada Sanchez (ESP) 2 6 16 3 6 (32) 3 5 5 4 28 - 78 pts

22nd: Samantha Stock (NZL) 23 18 3 41 8 16 2 34 26 11 (45) - 182 pts

Full results here

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