Thomas and William Staples record best Canadian performance since 2017 at 49er Junior Worlds
by Sail Canada 29 Jul 11:21 UTC
July 19-26, 2026
Thomas and William Staples record best Canadian performance since 2017 at 49er Junior Worlds © Sail Canada
Thomas and William Staples from Beaconsfield, QC, took the 8th position overall at the 2026 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Junior Championships held July 19-26 in Medemblik, Netherlands.
That is the best Canadian result registered at this event since Canadian Olympians Will Jones and Evan DePaul won the gold medal at the 2017 edition held in Kingston, Canada.
Through the 12 races held during the week, the Canadian Sailing Team members recorded seven top-10 positions.
"The event got off to a flying start and our recent hard work paid off as everything clicked into place," said Thomas and William Staples. "While we made a few errors in the final series that cost us a shot at the medals, we're nonetheless proud of our achievement and are looking forward to using this experience as a springboard for our upcoming event in San Pedro."
In Nacra 17, another Olympic class, Caspar Lenz Anderson (Calgary, AB) and Grace Poole (Victoria, B.C.) finished 9th out of 16 teams.
In a new category that was launched at last year's edition, the 49erFX Open, Andrew Chisholm (Belleville, ON) and Henry Simms (Halifax, N.S.) finished in 7th position overall out of 13 boats.