Andrew Lewis’ credible sixth place performance at the North American Sailing Championships over the weekend affirmed him a spot to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2015 Pan American Games which sails off in Toronto, Canada, from July 10-26.
The Atlantic sponsored sailor, who will also fly the red, white and black at the September 8-21 World Championships, revealed yesterday that he has been working towards becoming an all-round Laser Class athlete for yet another hectic year of international competition.
Having attained Pan Am qualification by producing several strong showings over the weekend, Lewis was among three other Laser sailors who secured spots. The remaining two were Cy Thompson of the US Virgin Islands and Peruvian Stefano Peschiera.
“I set a few personal goals in the lead up to Rio 2016 (Olympics) and my peek event for next year is the Pan Am Games,” he explained. “So with that being said, you can see how import it is for me. It’s a real honour to represent my county in the second highest Games to the Olympics.
It’s a great feeling. And just like every single race I enter, I go with the intentions to win gold.”
Over the past few months, the 2012 Olympic representative has been continuously competing and training on the water. Admitting that he had a shaky start in the early stages of 2014, Lewis made a couple adjustments to his training team and has since seen great productivity.
“To be honest, my year did not start out as smooth as intended. But I changed up my training programme and I am with a new trainer.
This change has switched my results drastically in a more positive light. I feel like I am back on track,” said a motivated Lewis.
Presently, the promising athlete is in California, USA, training with some of the world’s top Laser Class sailors.
He is expected to continue this development regime until early July and return to TT on July 10. Lewis is currently undergoing preparatory work with American number one Laser Class Charlie Buckingham, second ranked Chris Barnard, third rated Eric Bowers; 2012 Olympian and Brazilian number two Bruno Fontes and Thompson.
“We’re all in one camp and this has been the best training of my life thus far. This is also in preparation for World Championships this year in Spain in September. I have the Canada Olympic Class Regatta from 16-20 of August, then World Championships, then CAC games in mid- November, then a few events next year before the Pan Am,” continued Lewis.