Raúl Andrés Ríos de Choudens (born 3 December 1993 in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

), 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. While the term ''sailor'' ...

in the

Optimist Optimism is the attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway poin ...

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. ''Gallinago'' snipe have a nearly ...

, and

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

classes.

Early life and career

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: Science and technology * 420 (number), in mathematics * 420 Bertholda, a main-belt asteroid * 4:2:0, a chroma subsampling layout Cannabis culture * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations ...

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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

that November where they finished third overall. He then took the skipper position, with Fernando Monllor 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 Gatas (Ponce), Isla de Gatas, near the Paseo Tablado La Guancha, La Guancha recreational and cultural area, ...

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 (2011, 2012, 2015, 2022) * Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship (2014) * South American Championship (2023) In 2017, he won another world championship, the Snipe class Worlds, with Max Agnese 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.

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. * 1st place in Snipe at San Salvador 2023.

College

Ríos sailed for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, where he earned ICSA Coed All-American Honors, earned first team All- NEISA Skipper Honors, and was named an All-America Skipper in 2013,2014,215 and 2016. 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 Open Snipe class world champions Pan American Games gold 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 21st-century American sportsmen