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Dominican Republic
Published: Friday, August 24, 2007
LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP –– If you should ever win a world championship, you'd probably want to spread the news as fast and far as possible. Well, so did Sebastian Mera. The 20-year old sailor from the Dominican Republic took the 2007 Sunfish World Championships on Thursday (August 23) in Long Beach Island for the first major win of his career.
Still in his boat, not yet on land, Mera spoke on a phone with his elated parents, who were back home, giving him congratulations. "I already talked to them in the water. They were pretty excited," Mera said. "My Sunfish president (Andres Santana) from my country was in the water. He greeted me and talked to my parents and gave me the phone."
A consistent performance out made the congratulatory call possible.
Among a packed field of 100 sailors who began competing Monday, Mera took first place four times and runner-up another three. He combated miserable boating conditions that included complete cloud cover, cold temperatures and 15-20 mph winds for most of the tournament. Only before the start of the final race did the sun come out to greet the new champion.
"Finally, this was the weather that everyone was telling me about," Mera said. "I came here with a little shirt and my lifejacket. When I get here, it's like 18 degrees (Celsius, or 64 degrees Fahrenheit) and I'm freezing. I wasn't expecting this at all so I had to buy some (sailing apparel)."
What he should expect now is a hero's welcome this weekend when he gets back home to Las Americas airport in Santo Domingo. "Our country is on a small island, so this is really a big deal for us," Santana said. "Everyone now is cheering for him. They are preparing a whole reception for him (at) the airport. The whole press, other family, friends, everybody is going to see him."
Studying industrial design at Intech University in the Dominican, Mera competes in about five big races a year. In 2007, he's been to Curacao, Brazil, and the Eastern seaboard of the United States twice. But his real hope is to be in London in 2012. That's when he believes he has a good shot to represent his country in the Olympics. "I'm trying to start in Laser. That's another boat," Mera said. "Sunfish is my strongest point. But since Laser is an Olympic class, I'm going to shine in that."
For now, he's the sparring partner for Raul Aguayo, who hopes to represent Mera's homeland in the Laser at Beijing next summer.
© Copyright 2001/2002 caribbeanracing.com
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