Canadian sailor James Huynh wins bronze at Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games

Canadian sailor James Huynh wins bronze at Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games © Sail Canada

James Huynh from Brossard, QC, won a bronze medal at the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, finishing third in the men's Formula Kite event which ended on Sunday as part of the sailing competition.

After two days where Formula Kite racing had been cancelled due to wind conditions, the sailors took part in five races on Sunday to close out the competition.

"There were about six knots of wind Sunday, which was good for me. I'm good in that wind," said James Huynh. "I'm really happy with my performance. I did some clean racing, with no mistakes, and I'm happy about all of it."

In ILCA 6 and ILCA 7, two of the three scheduled days of competition were held.

In ILCA 6, Annie Balasubramanian from Toronto took the sixth position out of 19 sailors.

"The racing itself was really close," said Annie Balasubramanian. "Even though we only had two days where we were able to sail, every race was a battle. And it all came down to the last race, as we were all within three points of each other from first to sixth place. So it was winner-take-all at the last race. I was a bit disappointed about making a few mistakes which put me out of the winning position. Finishing sixth overall wasn't the result I had hoped for, but I'm coming out of this with a lot of great learnings, knowledge and experience that I will be able to bring to the U21 World Championships to start this weekend. And it was a pretty cool experience to be in the Games' environment with the team kit and the venue being in a satellite village. That was all super neat."

In ILCA 7, Reilly Nakatsu from Hammonds Plains, N.S., finished eighth out of 19 sailors.

"It was a really cool experience to represent Canada at the Junior Pan American Games," said Reilly Nakatsu. "Conditions were challenging but overall, it was really fun. I hope to be back here or to be doing the Junior Pan Am's next cycle."

For the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, each country could qualify no more than one spot in each of the five sailing events to be held, in accordance with the PanAm Sailing Qualification System. After that, Canadian sailors could qualify themselves as required by Sail Canada's Athlete Selection System and Requirements for the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games. Both documents are available through Sail Canada's website.

The second edition of the Junior Pan American Games featured more than 4,000 athletes in 42 disciplines. It was a platform for young athletes but also the opportunity to qualify for the 2027 Pan American Games. Sailors participating in the event had to be at least 17 years old and no older than 22 years old in 2025.