All Change for British Sailing Team Olympic Stars

Britain’s Olympic sailing stars are taking to the water to prepare for the Paris 2024 Games.

Two of Team GB’s Olympic champion sailors, Dylan Fletcher and Eilidh McIntyre, have revealed the teammates they will pair up with for a shot at a second gold medal.

Fletcher has teamed up with Rhos Hawes (image above) a rising star in the 49er class who won the under-23 European title in 2017.

A more dramatic change for McIntyre, who will team up with Martin Wrigley to compete in the new mixed crew 470 Olympic event.

For Paris 2024, the separate men and womens 470 events have been replaced with just the one mixed crew 470 event.

McIntyre took gold at Tokyo 2020 in the women’s 470 with Hannah Mills who has retired from Olympic sailing to concentrate on the SailGP circuit and her environmental campaigning.

While Fletcher made history alongside Stuart Bithell at Tokyo 2020 as the pair became the first Brits to win Olympic gold in the 49er class.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympian Saskia Tidey has teamed up with 20-year-old Freya Black in the 49erFX after Charlotte Dobson called time on her Olympic career.

A national champion in the 29er class, Black is returning to skiff racing after competing in the mixed 470 class for the past two years.

Changes continue throughout the British Sailing Team . . .

Amy Seabright (470), Kirstie Urwin (Nacra 17), Nikki Boniface (Nacra 17) and George Povall (ILCA 6/470) have retired from the Team.

Other new pairings for 2022 include Chris Taylor/James Grummett, Nick Robins/Dan Budden and Arran Holman/James Taylor, all in the 49er class.

Although the first major event of 2022 for the British Sailing Team will be the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, Mallorca, in early April, the first opportunity to see some of the new pairings in action will be at the Lanzorote International Regatta from this Wednesday (16 Feb).

Following on four days of iQFOIL international racing – see report here – British Sailing Team 49er and 49erFX crews are taking to the water at their winter training base, the first opportunity to see them in a racing situation.

Team GB Olympic sailing stars announce retirement ahead of Paris 2024