MANLY windsurfer Rory Meehan is on his way to achieving his goal of Olympic selection after being crowned Youth iQFoil World Champion.
Racing in France earlier this month, Meehan competed against 150 windsurfers.
At 18 years of age, Meehan only started windsurfing four years ago and proved a natural in the sport.
In the recent championships, he began with a solid win but then got “a little too eager” and received a black flag for an early start in the next race, making him too cautious in subsequent starts.
“Most of the event became a mental battle just to stay in contention,” he said.
“When we finally finished the qualifying series, I’d done enough to sit sixth overall.”
In the final series, with the black flag lifted, Meehan could finally push the starts and sail properly, taking him up to second overall and into the medal series and a ticket straight to the Grand Final.
Meehan outshone the series leader, Italy’s Mattia Saoncella, but found Turkey’s Arton Senol the main challenger.
With a win in the first race and finishing second behind Senol in the second race, his win in the third race came after a nail-biter.
“This result is awesome, and a milestone to my bigger goal of becoming an Olympic champion,” he said.
Meehan heads to Townsville this week for a training camp, and in October he hopes to qualify for the World Sailing Youth Worlds which will be held in Portugal in December.
He will be training with Wynnum coach Mitch Pearson, who has coached him from the beginning.
He said his focus would then be on competing full-time nationally and internationally with his eyes set on the 2028 Olympics.
The Redlands College alumni’s love of sailing began when he joined the Youth Squad of Wynnum’s Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron at the age of seven.
“I started windsurfing as more of a hobby with my mates and I found out it is an Olympic sport, and I started competing and I’ve just got better every time I hop on the water.
“This title isn’t just mine.
“It’s for my coach, who has coached me from the beginning, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron for its incredible support, my family who follow every race, my teammates and everyone who sent messages of encouragement, support and congrats.”
Meehan is looking for potential sponsors and partnership opportunities.
To help bring his Olympic dream to life, visit the Australian Sports Foundation page asf.org.au/projects/rory-
meehan/rory-meehan-iqfoil-olympic-journey.
