We Did It.
January 6th to February 6th of 2024 was the most successful month I have ever had sailing, and that I have ever had in my life. I will summarize as best I can, but truly I could write a novel about the past month of my life. For now, I will stick with the trials and talk about Worlds in a future blog.
January kicked off with the Domestic Olympic Trials. This one regatta determines which athlete represents the United States at the Olympics this summer. Whoever wins is the one who goes. My preparation for this event was going perfect until 3 weeks before the start of the event I contracted Covid. My efforts went from sailing to trying to recover as quickly as I could. I could not sail as much as I would have liked leading up, but I had the confidence to make it work no matter what. On the first day of the event I felt mostly recovered, and as ready as I would ever be.
I knew the trials would be a battle for every point until the very end. To add to this, I would be battling with my team mates and close friends who I have been working with for the past two years. There was 7 total days of sailing with 27 races. Each day, Geronimo (one of my team mates) and I were always within a point or two of each other. This was until the second to last day where I won 3 out of the 4 races. For the first time all event, I had a significant advantage. This meant on the final day I only had to beat Geronimo in one of the 4 scheduled races, and in the other 3 I could just cruise and play it safe and still win the event.
Going into the final day, I knew I only had to win one race. My coach Juanma and I set a strategy: sail just like I had been every other day until I win one race, then ease off the gas and play safe.
First race of the day I was leading, misplayed the downwind and let Geronimo sneak by me so I finished second. “Okay, no problem” I say to myself, I know I have 3 more chances to win a race and seal the deal. I just needed to stay calm and not let the pressure get to me.
Second race of the day we trade positions. Geronimo is leading and I pass him on the downwind. I play the upwind just right to hold onto the lead until the end. This was huge. I got my race win. Now the mindset shifts, I cant get over excited. I could still lose if I am over the start line early, or get into a protest.
Races 3 and 4 I do my own thing. I start away from everybody, am extremely cautious to not fall or make any unforced error. One wave, one shift, one gust at a time I ease my kit around the course. All I need is to get second in both races, and that’s exactly what I did. I crossed the finish line in the last race knowing I had just won the Olympic Trials.
My coach Juanma and I following the final race of the Trials.
The emotions I felt in that moment and still feel to this day are indescribable. The relief, the euphoria, the passion, there are simply no words that could ever do it justice. I hope everybody in their life gets to feel something like I did that day. The hour from when I crossed the finish line to seeing my family waiting on the beach is the best hour of my entire life. If you want to see, Id highly recommend checking out this, and this post from the U.S Sailing Team (Thanks Allison and Lexi!!)
My spot at the Olympics still is not 100% as I still need to qualify the country, but based on our results at the 2024 World Championships we are looking very very strong.
Thank you to everybody who has supported me on this journey. There are dozens and dozens of people who made this possible. My team, my family, my coach, my donors, and so many more. I thank each and every one of you for making my Olympic dream a reality.
All the best
Noah Lyons
USA-6
