The Laser Olympic sailor Cy Thompson is the winner of the 2016 Virgin Islands Sailor of the Year Award.

This award was constituted by the Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA). This is a proud moment for Thompson and his hard work, achievements and work ethics are some of the reasons that he has been awarded this prestigious recognition.

The president of VISA, Phillip Shannon, said that Cy earned an early qualification for Rio 2016. He had the opportunity to train with some of the best sailors in his class for about 18 months. He was determined to make it big at the Rio Olympics and hence he deserted his personal life and business ventures and concentrated on just training for the last 9 months. This is a remarkable courage and determination by the Laser sailor and one that every sailor must follow to achieve results.

Cy Thompson is 28 years old and is a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the grandson of the first Olympic sailors of the Virgin Islands, Rudy Thompson. The Olympian Thompson said that he considered this award a great honor and this award ensures that everything that he has done in the sailing world is a worthy attempt. He is aware that a few of the Virgin Islands sailors were in contention for this award and he was happy that VISA has recognized his dedication and efforts that he has put into training. His ultimate goal was to race in the 2016 Rio Olympics and was happy that he could make his dreams come true.

Thompson had competed in the 2012 London Olympics as well where he finished in the 25th position. He earned an early qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics with a stupendous show at the 2014 ISAF World Championships in Spain. He said that he felt very proud when he learned that he would be the flag bearer of the U.S. Virgin Islands Olympic delegation.