Age: 24
Class: Laser / ILCA 7
Home Club: Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron
Ryan has his eyes set on competing at the Olympics in 2028. He has recently joined an international training group based in Cadiz, Spain joining forces with athletes from Korea, Denmark, Sweden and Peru. The group is lucky to have one of the best ILCA 7 coaches, Spaniard Anton Garrote. Anton has coached athletes to Olympic medals and World Championships in recent years. Ryan will spend the winter training in Spain preparing for a series of regattas beginning in April including the European Championships. In July he will race the North American and Long Beach Olympic class regatta's in Los Angeles on the Olympic waters. Ryan's season is capped off with the World Championships in Dublin in August.
The momentum from the year will be used to peak at the 2027 World Championship in Brasil in January. This being a very important event as it is the first chance to qualify the nation for the Olympic games.
The training group Ryan has joined has the resources and expertise to make him a top ILCA 7 sailor. There is just one thing missing: the funding to do it. Club, provincial and national support only scratch the surface of what’s needed to race and train to reach the top. Ryan has a goal of fundraising $35,000 this year so he can attend necessary training and regattas.
He needs your help.
If you are inspired by Ryan’s story to make a financial donation through Wind Athletes, thank you. If you can share Aeroplan or other travel points, wonderful! And if you can spread the word about Ryan’s sailing, please do!