Olympics Path: Juhasz top Canadian at the 2025 ILCA World Championships

May 22, 2025

By Sail Canada

James Juhasz from Oakville, ON, was the top Canadian at the 2025 Men’s ILCA 7 & Women’s ILCA 6 World Championships held May 12-17 in Qingdao, China. He came in 37th in ILCA 7 earnning the best Canadian result at the event since 2016. In ILCA 6, Clara Gravely was the best Canadian with a 41st-place finish, a personal best for her at that competition.

At this regatta where only the last two of six days of racing were held due to weather conditions, James Juhasz took the 37th out of a total of 138 sailors. Juhasz’s previous best ranking at the Men’s ILCA 7 World Championship was 40th, a result he had earned last year as well as in 2020. This was the fifth time overall he was taking part in the event. His 37th-place finish was also the top Canadian performance at the competition since Robert Davis came in 31st in 2016.

Willem Wiersema from the Netherlands won gold, followed by Paris 2024 Olympic Games silver medalist Pavlos Kontides from Cyprus and Zac Littlewood from Australia.

Other Canadian results include Liam Bruce from Oakville, ON, who took the 63th position, Ryan Anderson from Halifax, N.S., who was 74th, and Alexander Heinzemann from Tsawwassen, B.C., who was 118th.

Personal best for Clara Gravely

In women’s ILCA 6, Clara Gravely from Toronto was the top Canadian with a 41st position, which was also a personal best for her. Her previous best performance at the Women’s ILCA 6 World Championship was a 42nd-place finish in 2022. This year was her sixth time at the event.

Louise Cervera from France, who finished 10th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, won gold, followed by Agata Barwinska from Poland, who was 15th in Paris, and Eve Mcmahon from Ireland, who was 13th in Paris.

Other Canadian results include Victoria Coady from Coquitlam, B.C., who finished 88th overall out of 99 sailors, and Lilly Rainham from Halifax, N.S., who was 90th.

Canadian sailors at the 2025 Women’s ILCA 6 and Men’s ILCA 7 World Championships
ILCA 6 (/99)
41. *Clara Gravely – Toronto, ON (ABYC)
88. Victoria Coady – Coquitlam, BC.
90. Lilly Rainham – Halifax, NS.

ILCA 7 (/138)
37. *James Juhasz – Oakville, ON (OYS)
63. *Liam Bruce – Oakville, ON (PCYC)
74. *Ryan Anderson – Halifax, N.-S. (RNSYS)
118. Alexander Heinzemann – Tsawwassen, B.C.

*Members of Sail Canada’s National Team