Juan Perdomo named Youth Olympic Games Sailing Athlete Role Model

Juan Perdomo (PUR) at the 2013 Sail First ISAF Youth Sailing Worlds © Icarus / ISAF Youth Worlds

Puerto Rican Laser sailor Juan Perdomo has been named as an Athlete Role Model (ARMs) for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games from 16-28 August in Nanjing, China.

Perdomo will play a key role in supporting, mentoring and offering advice to the 100 young sailors who will be competing across four events on Jinniu Lake.

The 19-year-old created ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship history in Limassol, Cyprus in 2013 when he became the first Puerto Rican medallist in the 43rd edition of the event. Perdomo took gold on a tense final day in the Laser Radial and will be able to transfer the knowledge and experience to the next wave of youth champions and Olympic heroes.

"I hope to show them that through hard work and dedication you can achieve your goals," commented Perdomo. "Sailing is a great sport to dedicate your life too and you learn a lot and make a lot of friends. Hopefully I can make them enjoy the experience and help them with their goals and whatever they set out for themselves."

View an interview with Perdomo here:

The ARMs will be accessible to the athletes both in the Youth Olympic Village and during a series of educational activities and workshops that will focus on areas such as skills development, how to lead healthy lifestyles, environment and social responsibility and Olympism.

Athletes at the Youth Olympic Games will get to engage in conversations with the ARMs throughout the Games. They will be behind the scenes during competition and will also be available for informal chats in the ARM lounge that will be open to all participants.

The main goal behind making the ARMs as accessible as possible is so they can share their experiences and inspire the young athletes to be the best they can be both on and off the field of play.

Racing at Nanjing 2014 will be across four events with male and female Techno 293 windsurfer fleets and male and female Byte CII one-person dinghy fleets. With 100 of the finest sailors aged 15-16 years racing on Jinniu Lake Perdomo is expecting a special event for all those attending, "I think we can expect a very exciting environment in Nanjing, there's going to be a lot talent and racing is going to be very exciting. The whole atmosphere of sailors competing and sharing different cultures will make it a great experience.

"There's obviously a lot of competition but everybody is very friendly and you get to meet a lot of new people and make friendships that last forever. I really enjoyed participating and I'm sure everybody else does as well.

"All the Youth sailors are practicing hard and all those who perform well at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing have a big hope of competing at the Olympic Games in Rio or Tokyo 2020."

Perdomo will join a list of 28 athletes representing the International Federations whose sports will feature at Nanjing 2014. The list features many legendary names from the world of sport, including Olympic and world champions. View the list here.