British Youth Sailing Team at the Volvo ISAF Youth Worlds

British Youth Sailing Team secure four medals at the Volvo ISAF Youth World Championships

The British Youth Sailing team take home four medals and show the world what they are made of. Conditions in Busan were out of the ordinary for the British sailors. With light winds dominating the regatta and with Typhoon Haitang swirling across the ocean and towards the coast of China the weather was unpredictable. It is not often that the British sailors have a tropical storm on their local weather chart but the team made the best of it and finished well. Winning one gold, one silver and two bronze, the team bring home one less medal than last year and remain one of the strongest teams at the Championship. The Volvo Trophy for the best team went to France who earned 332 points just beating Great Britain who earned 283 points.

In the Laser, Giles Scott proved that he is not afraid of international competition. Giles went out on the course, fought hard for the position of top dog, and walks away from the regatta with a much coveted gold medal. Finishing with 29 points overall, Giles sailed consistently and squeezed out his opposition Jean Baptiste Bernaz of France. Giles has been training with Nick Thopmson, the 2004 Youth World Champion and will continue to sail in international competitions.

Finishing well in the Laser Radial was Alison Young, a determined and focused sailor. With 37 points overall Alison brings a bronze medal back to the UK.

Hobie16 sailors Tom Phipps and Jon Cook have been sailing together for the past five years and have one of the strongest partnerships of all the youth sailors. The boys battled it out with both the Australian team and the French team for the gold medal and the three boats finished within one point of each other. By the end of the regatta, the Aussies secured the gold, the Brits took the silver and the French earned bronze.

The 420's also had a successful run at the Youth Worlds. Tom Mellendine and James Clark sailed well earning a bronze medal for the British Team. In the girls 420, Hannah Mills and Peggy Webster were pushed out of the top three by the Brazilian team and finished fourth overall.

Mistral sailors Peter Bird and Beth Williamson had a hard run throughout the competition. The week was dominated by light winds forcing the windsurfers to pump their way around the course. Sailing in light winds can be very physically demanding and the pair took advantage of the lay day to recover. Bird finished the regatta in tenth place overall and Williamson finished in thirteenth.

Simon Wergan, RYA Youth Racing Manager explained: "Hot and humid conditions and very light breezes contributed to some very challenging racing. The currents in the bay were hard to predict and as a result is was in general a high scoring regatta. Consistency was essential and shows in the results of the top sailors. The team really enjoyed the high level of competition at this event and are pleased with our final results. We may be seeing some of these sailors at future Olympic events."

Athens Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Glanfield was coaching the double handed boats at the Youth Championships. Glanfield commented, "The British sailors went about this regatta in a really mature way. It is a tough venue, especially if it is your first time here, but the sailors have been very professional and determined and have come away with a fantastic result."