00:00Racing against the best can bring out your best.
00:04And for TNT sailor Stefan Steuven, it was a baptism of fire at the Olympic course regatta.
00:09He finished the 47th out of 52 sailors.
00:13One of the most challenging regattas I've been to, especially with the stiff competition
00:19that was there.
00:21It was massive names in the sports, names that have gotten 14 medals over 14 different
00:27world championships, like Pablo Scantides from Cyprus.
00:32He's gone to four or five Olympics, came second three times in the Olympics.
00:37There was names like Stefano Pacera, who is third place in Tokyo 2021.
00:44Steuven said he struggled gaining confidence to race against the big names, but he described
00:49it as a learning experience.
00:51Most importantly, he embraced the importance of having a strong mind.
00:56In the whole entirety of the regatta, I was in that headspace of fear to be on the start
01:02line and how it could just affect your judgment and your performance.
01:06He said he got his best experience as the competition wore on.
01:11We did 11 races in total.
01:13To the last day, I really started to face my fear of starting next to these huge names that
01:21I can start, I am able, I have the know-how, I have the skills, it's just to put it all
01:27together.
01:28And the last day was actually when I got my best races of 31st and 34th.
01:34His next tournament will not have a stacked field of top experience to sailors as he races
01:40in his first ever Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay.
01:43However, it's just as challenging as he says only one sailor will progress to the senior
01:49Pan American Games.
01:50Extremely more confident, especially with this experience on wake-up call, how fear and
01:58your mental could affect your sailing.
02:02And I'm working with my coach right now on that aspect of it, that I've done the training
02:10in Bahamas, I've gone to this regatta, I have now the skills in sailing, now I have to be
02:16able to apply it.
02:17Steuven outlined the three areas he needs to work on to be successful, sailing fast,
02:22being firm on the starting line and being sure of his skills if he is to come away as
02:27the champion of the Pan American Junior Championships.
02:30Sergio Dufour, TV6 Sport.
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