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Veerle ten Have feels like she has been climbing a ladder this year and wants to step up a couple more rungs next week with success at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
Veerle ten Have was second at this year's Youth Sailing World Championships. Photo: World Sailing.
New Zealand's top female boardsailor will go in with high expectations when competition in the sailing gets underway on Monday morning (NZ time) because 2018 has been something of a breakthrough year for the Tauranga teenager.
Her biggest success came with a silver medal at July's Youth Sailing World Championships in the United States. She revelled in the predominantly breezy conditions but sailed consistently well and finished only two points behind Great Britain's Islay Watson.
Ten Have then backed it up with some encouraging performances at the sailing world championships in Aarhus, finishing fifth in one race before it was scrapped because a buoy moved mid-race and also recording another top 10.
"I have learned and improved so much this year," ten Have said. "It has been like climbing a ladder.
"The biggest lessons came at Aarhus. I got a test of what the real level is like and it's brutal but it makes me want it more because I know I can get there."
One of the biggest challenges for ten Have this week will be getting to grips with the Techno 293+ that will be used by the boardsailors, which is smaller than the RS:X 8.5 she normally uses. She's also hoping it blows.
"If it's windy, I have high expectations. I think people see me as a threat."
The top three from the youth worlds will all be in Argentina for the girl's boardsailing and they are among 100 competitors from 44 countries who will take part in the sailing at the Youth Olympic Games.
The other classes are kiteboarding and the Nacra 15, in a nod to the future of Olympic sailing.
New Zealand will have a team of three sailors at the Youth Olympics, with Max van der Zalm (boy's boardsailing) and Pia Gordon (kiteboarding) joining ten Have.
Van der Zalm has competed at the last two Youth Sailing World Championships and Gordon, who was born in New Zealand and has found herself living in Australia after spending most of her life in Thailand, has been kiting since 2013.
"This is extremely exciting for not only me, but for all kiteboarders who will get to see the sport they love being competed on the world stage," Gordon said.
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will be the third summer youth Games, following those in Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing in 2014, with almost 4000 athletes from 206 countries.
The trio will be looking to win New Zealand's first medals in sailing at a Youth Olympics and it would be appropriate timing with three-time Olympic medallist Barbara Kendall leading the New Zealand team as Chef de Mission.
