Raúl Andrés Ríos de Choudens (born 3 December 1993 in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is sprea ...

), is a world class

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

in the

Optimist Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled wi ...

Snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The '' Gallinago'' snipes have a n ...

, and

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

classes. He began sailing Optimists at the age of ten at the Club Náutico de San Juan, and became North American champion and World champion in 2008. From the Optimist class, he moved into the

420 420 may refer to: * 420 (number) *420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20 **California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act * AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar * ...

and

classes. He started sailing in the Snipe Class by crewing for Ernesto Rodriguez just after summer of 2008, training for the Western Hemisphere's championship in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

that November where they finished third overall. He then took the skipper position, with

Fernando Monllor Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

from the

Club Náutico de Ponce The Club Náutico de Ponce (''Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club'') is a yacht club in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The club is located contiguously on Isla de Gatas, near the La Guancha recreational and cultural area, and next to the Port of Ponce. The co ...

as a crew, competing in the US Nationals, the North Americans, the Western Hemisphere and Oriental Championship, the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games. He won the following regattas: * United States National Championship (2013, 2014, 2015) *

North American Championship A North American Championship is a top level international sports competition between North American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Bridge * North American Br ...

(2011, 2012, 2015, 2022) * Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship (2014) *

South American Championship A South American Championship is a top level international sports competition between South American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships * ATP Buenos Aires, a tennis ...

(2023) In 2017, he won another world championship, the Snipe class Worlds, with

Max Agnese Maximiliano Agnese, known as Mac Agnese (born April 26, 1994, in Fort Lauderdale), is a world class sailor in the Melges 24, SL16, 29er and Snipe classes. He started sailing Optimist at age five, and won his first world championship by age 11 ...

as his crew, in Corunna, the bronze medal at the

Southamericans, and World Championship at Salinas Yacht Club, with Sebastian Higuera and Nicolas Deeb.

Pan American Games

* 4th place in Snipe at Guadalajara 2011. * 1st place in Snipe at

Toronto 2015 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Central American and Caribbean Games

* 1st place in Snipe at Mayagüez 2010. * 1st place in Snipe at Veracruz 2014. * 1st place in Snipe at Barranquilla 2018.

College

Ríos sailed for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

, where he earned ICSA Coed All-American Honors, earned first team All- NEISA Skipper Honors, and was named an All-America Skipper in May 2013. He earned the 2015-16 Eagle of the Year Award, and was one of the three finalists for the prestigious College Sailor of the Year award. Raul served as Team Captain and encouraged his team to engage in community service projects and high academic success.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Raul 1993 births Boston College Eagles sailors Living people Optimist class world champions People from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male sailors (sport) Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Sailors at the 2011 Pan American Games Sailors at the 2015 Pan American Games Snipe class sailors Snipe class world champions Pan American Games medalists in sailing World champions in sailing for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in sailing Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games