Eleven different nations won medals at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, however Owen Siese did not claim a Medal.
The Youth Olympic Games have been widely acclaimed as an outstanding success and Singapore have been wonderful hosts.
On an overcast but warm day at the National Sailing Centre it was an anxious wait in the morning for the wind to build on medal race day. However the wind gods rallied and delivered a light and shifty 6 - 8 knot breeze that was just sufficient to complete the medal races to schedule.
In the days Medal Race Siese finished 13th, dropping him from T4th to 6th overall, 12 points outside the Bronze Medal spot.
Virgin Islander Ian Barrows sailed to gold in the boy's Byte CII class. Barrows had hit the front on the penultimate day of the regatta and made certain of success with a third-place finish in the medal race.
His score of 44 points gave him a 16-point margin of victory over Germany's Florian Haufe, who claimed silver.
Netherlands Antilles' sailor Just Van Aanholt clinched bronze after winning the race on the last day, shading out Finland's Kaarle Tapper by four points.
Barrows who spent some time in Bermuda Training over the summer stayed very focused to the end as he maturely describes, "You've just got to stay really focused and not get too caught up in the results and not get too nervous. I had really good boat speed on the upwind and tactics, so that helped a lot and I was super conservative."
father reported that Owen Siese was disappointed not be in contention for the Bronze Medal today as he carded one his lowest finishes in the regatta but felt good about finishing in 6th place at such a competitive and important regatta.
Youth Olympic Byte coach Pablo Weber was extremely pleased with performance noting that his consistency kept him in the medal hunt for the entire event. Weber also stated that Bermuda's approach to preparing for the games coupled with die-hard commitment to training on and off the water led to this excellent performance. He sees great things ahead for Siese on a national and international level. He also sees the potential for Bermuda's young sailors to do well at future Youth Olympics and other international events with consistent focus, training and support from the national sporting bodies.
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