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About James
From a 7-year-old on the Great Lakes to chasing Olympic gold.
The story · 6 min read
James' story
It all started one summer on my parents' boat. Every weekend we were on the lake, my sister and I exploring the shoreline, the wind doing more of the steering than we did. By the time I could hold a tiller properly, sailing wasn't a hobby — it was the only thing that felt like the right shape.
The junior years
At 7, I started sailing school at Bronte Harbour Yacht Club — single-handed dinghies, race starts, capsize drills. By 12, I had joined the Bronte Harbour Laser Race Team and was racing proper ILCA fleets. Regional regattas, one trip to a North American championship that I don't remember winning anything at — but the flight home, sitting next to athletes who'd just made the podium, was the moment something locked in. I wanted to be on that side of the conversation.
Sailing school, age 7
Laser race team, age 12
At 15, I started racing for the Ontario Sailing Team — my first taste of national-level selection, competing in CAN kit against sailors from every province. The gap between the lake back home and this level was significant, and I was determined to close it.
Queen's and Kingston
At 18, I enrolled at Queen's University in Kingston — partly for the degree, mostly because Kingston puts you on the water that trains Olympic sailors. Sailing for the Gaels while the Great Lakes threw everything at us, I kept training year-round and started racing internationally in the ILCA 7.
The Mediterranean move
At 21, mid-pandemic, I packed up and moved to Malta. SailCoach has the deepest international training group in the ILCA 7, and the Mediterranean breeze runs year-round. The first six months were brutal — getting beaten by people I'd never heard of, every single day, for weeks. That's the thing nobody tells you about sailing at this level: you don't lose to the equipment, you lose to people who've sailed 10,000 hours more than you.
The Canadian Sailing Team selection in 2022 was the first moment in five years that the campaign felt sustainable — full coaching support, performance science, a real path to the start line at LA 2028.
Recent times
Now midway through the Olympic Quad, all focus is on LA 2028. I've based my winters in Malta, where the conditions and consistency allow for the volume of on-water work, and I train alongside an international squad of Olympic and aspiring Olympic sailors. The program blends long sessions on the water, hundreds of hours of cycling to build my aerobic engine, and plenty of gym work to strengthen my core.
The road to LA28 runs through the World Championships, continental qualifiers, and the Canadian Olympic Trials, with final selection to be completed in the spring of 2028. Every regatta on the calendar is a checkpoint — sharpening the craft, building the engine, and chasing the standard required to make the start line in LA.
Join the campaign
If this story resonates, consider joining the campaign.
Recurring monthly support is the most useful thing — it lets me plan a season instead of a regatta.
Career timeline
The path so far
Major milestones and the inflection points behind them.
2007 · Lake Ontario
Onto the lake
First time on the water in my parents' boat. Every weekend exploring the lake with my sister.
2014–2018 · Oakville Yacht Squadron
Junior sailing
Optimist, then ILCA 4. Regional regattas, North American championships, and a slow obsession.
2019 · Florida + Ontario
Stepping into the ILCA 7
Move into the Olympic-class boat. Heavier rig, longer races, professional coaching.
2020 · Oakville, ON
Quarantine on the lake
Pandemic shut down racing. Trained alone for a year — the long hours that compounded later.
2021 · Marsamxett Harbour
Move to Malta
Joined SailCoach in Malta full-time. International training group, year-round Mediterranean breeze.
2022 · Canada
Named to Canadian Sailing Team
Selected to the national squad for the LA 2028 cycle. Funded coaching, performance support, full-time campaign.
2026 → · Worldwide
Olympic qualifying window
World Championships, continental qualifiers, and the start line at LA 2028.
Press
In the news
Selected coverage of the campaign.
Juhasz named to Canadian Sailing Team for 2026 cycle
Selection puts him among the top male ILCA 7 athletes in the country, with full national-team support.
From the Great Lakes to LA 2028: a hometown Olympic bid
Profile on James's path from junior sailing at Oakville Yacht Squadron to a year-round international campaign.
Top-30 finish at Princesa Sofía — Canadian breakout
Help me get to LA 2028.
Three years out. The campaign runs on supporters. Pick a tier, or set your own — every contribution is the next day on the water.
