Maltese sailor Richard Schultheis and his team-mate Youenn Bertin struck gold in the 49er class at the World Junior Championships that were held in the Port of Vilagarcía in Spain last week.
Schulteis and Bertin impressed in the championship with their consistent showing throughout the competition even though their top placing was put at risk as they looked off the pace in the first race on Saturday.
The duo were almost last at the halfway point. They had a great leeward mark rounding and continued moving up the fleet to salvage a 13th place.
At that point in the day, their overall lead over New Zealand duo Menzies and Rush had shrunk to a single point, but two good races by the Maltese and two average races by the Kiwis stretched the lead to a large on with three races remaining. Heading into Sunday’s final day, Schultheis and Bertin held a commanding 23-point lead.
On Sunday, Schultheis and Bertin ensured they would secure the gold medal when taking third place in the first race of the day, 14th in the second, and seventh placing in the third.
Schultheis and Bertin finished with 73 points, 12 clear of New Zealand pair Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren, while Simon Heindl and Conrad Jacobs, of Germany, completed the podium.
