N.L. sailing team sets sights on 2016 Olympics
A Newfoundland and Labrador sailing team is one step closer to becoming Canada's representative at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
St. John's natives Daniel Inkpen, 24, and Jonathan Ladha, 30, just signed a sponsorship with Sedna Nutra Incorporated, a spin-off company by the Rodrigues Winery in Whitbourne.
The two cousins were honing their sailing skills on Quidi Vidi Lake on Monday.
"It's a pretty good combination of sort of athletics and intelligence," Ladha said.
"It's more harnessing power than sailing anymore," "Inkpen added.
For three years in a row, Inkpen and Ladha have been named Canadian champions in their 49er class.
Two weeks ago, they placed third in the U.S. national championships.
Inkpen and Ladha will head to Marseille, France for the world championships this week. Last year, the duo placed 27th out of one hundred.
"This year, it'll be a success if we make the top 20. Next year we want to be in the top 10," Inkpen said.
The two have only been sailing for five years, and many of their opponents have put in twice that amount of time.
"We feel we're still catching up but getting much closer. We're certainly still getting better faster than they are," Inkpen said.
After they compete in the world championships, they plan on setting their sights making Canada's 2016 Olympic team. If Ladha and Inkpen are successful, they will be the first people from Newfoundland and Labrador to sail for Canada at the Olympics.
Ladha said the two are setting their sights on Olympic gold.
"You're not planning to settle on just participating. That doesn't count," Ladha said.
"We would go as spectators if that's what we were going for."
