Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie have today announced the Athena Pathway squad of sailors that, entered through Challenging Club the Royal Yacht Squadron, will seek to make history by winning the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup and retaining the Youth America’s Cup for Britain.
The team will be supported in this challenge by leading global aerospace and maritime technology innovator Cobham-Ultra, in a continuation of the firm’s extensive investment in UK engineering skills and Cobham’s provision of ground-breaking satellite apparatus in the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race.
Athena Pathway was launched in August 2022 by Mills and Ainslie, the world’s most successful Olympic sailors, with the aim of fast-tracking developmentin high-performance sailing and bringing diversity into the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly. The Puig Women’s and Youth America’s Cups, taking place alongside the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in September and October 2024, are a central focus for the Pathway, with the first-time inclusion of a women’s event and the renewed emphasis on supporting the next generation representing major progress for the World’s oldest sporting trophy in achieving gender equity and raising the sport’s profile for young people.
Over 300 applications were received for Athena Pathway’s Cup squad, with an intensive 18-month trials period, comprising on-water and simulator-based analysis, used to assess the hopefuls’ abilities to adapt to the unique skillset required to sail at speeds of up to 100kph in an AC40, the highly technical foiling monohull which will be used in the Women’s and Youth regattas.
This process was led by Olympian and former Royal Naval Officer Penny Clark, who has extensive experience coaching the British Sailing Team from youth to podium level, and Olympic 49er bronze medallist Chris Draper, an America’s Cup veteran with participations spanning multiple roles, including helmsman for Luna Rossa for AC34 and tactician and wing trimmer for Softbank Team Japan for AC35.
As Athena Pathway’s Sailing Programme Manager and Head of Performance respectively, a key focus for Clark and Draper was designing a trials process comprehensive enough to reflect the “strength and depth” of the initial pool of applicants. Beyond looking for “proven winners” and athletes who had demonstrated “enormous potential” at varying stages of their careers, the human machine interface of the simulator provided hugely valuable insight into sailors’ capacities to practically apply their theoretical foiling knowledge. The ability to “communicate and stay calm in high-stress situations”, Draper said, was also pivotal.
Mills noted that selection was “a very difficult decision due to the immensely high standard of the sailors who applied”, butthat the process offered an exciting glimpse into a bright future for British sailing:
“It’s great to see the level of talent coming through in the UK and Athena Pathway is focused on supporting and developing this talent both on and off the water – with the longer-term aim of inspiring the next generation into, and through, the sport of sailing.”
With a shared resume of 6 Olympic medals and 22 World Championship medals, the 12 strong squad also cements the reunion of one of sailing’s most successful competitive partnerships, with Mills and her 470 crew Saskia Clark set to race together again for the first time since winning Gold in Rio, 2016.
Clark commented: “Very excited is an understatement. Hannah and I had a great Olympic career together and I’m looking forward to reuniting, taking all the learnings from our Olympic experiences and applying them into a broader team environment in a new class of boat”.
The other selected athletes include Tokyo Olympic Silver medallist Anna Burnet, who is set to represent Britain at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Burnet is not alone in this double selection, with Ellie Aldridge, Saskia Tidey and Freya Black also selected to race in both the Olympics and the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup competitions. Also joining the team is Mills’ Emirates GBR SailGP teammate and experienced offshore sailor Hannah Diamond, who has previously competed in the Volvo Ocean race and Rolex Fastnet. The final six Athena Pathway picks are Nick Robins, Matt Beck, Alex Hughes, James Grummett and Hattie Rogers.
With the majority of the team’s training to date having taken place on the simulator, preparations are due to intensify over the coming months, aided by the arrival of Athena Pathway’s AC40 in Barcelona. The British Senior AC Team, of which Ainslie is Team Principal and Skipper, will continue to play an active role in supporting the development of their female and youth counterparts through facilitating upskilling opportunities within their AC40 two-boating programme. Upskilling is also a focus off the water, with several members of Athena Pathway’s shore crew, including Boat Captain Sophie Heritage and Electronics Technician Suzy Peters, currently working amongst Ainslie’s team.
Mills is confident that her squad has what it takes to win in the Autumn and hopes that the campaign will provide a platform to further Athena Pathway’s goal of inspiring positive change, and the next generation, in sailing and beyond:
“It’s an incredible milestone for our sport. These athletes represent a new era of inclusivity and excellence in competitive sailing.”