After a stunning year on the water, sailing’s highest achievers were honoured at the World Sailing Awards ceremony at Singapore’s historic CHIJMES Hall.
The 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards were presented to Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist Marit Bouwmeester, the most successful female sailor at the Olympics in the sport, and the Spanish duo of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, gold medallists in the men’s skiff at Paris 2024 and winners of SailGP season 4.
The awards were decided by the combined verdicts of a record 49,964 public votes and an expert panel of judges.
Young World Sailor of the Year
The new Young World Sailor of the Year awards were won by Poland’s Ewa Lewandowska and hometown hero Max Maeder of Singapore.
Ewa Lewandowska claimed an impressive gold medal in the mixed category of the 29er at the Youth Sailing World Championships. That success came in partnership with Krzysztof Królik, with whom she started sailing in February and with whom she also won the European title and finished second at the 29er worlds. Lewandowska also won youth worlds gold in December last year in partnership with Julia Maria Zmudzinska.
At the age of 17, Max is the reigning Formula Kite World, Asian Games, Asian and European champion, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze-medallist. Max claimed the gold at 2024 Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères and his incredible rise also includes winning the KiteFoil World Series in Austria, gold at the 2024 KiteFoil Asian Championships, gold at the Asian Games, and gold at the 2023 Youth Sailing World Championship. He is one of the most consistent athletes in the Formula Kite class with a podium finish at every event. He is the youngest world champion of an Olympic class and Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist.
Winds of Change won the 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award, NLcomp was named the first ever winner of the new World Sailing Technology Award, the Olympic champion pair of Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti won the Team of the Year, adding to the Rolex World Sailor of the Year award they both won in 2022, Aiko Saito was presented with the Beppe Croce Trophy in celebration of a career devoted to sailing, and Tunisian Olympian and President of the Tunisian Sailing Federation, Hedi Gharbi won the President’s Development Award.
Marit Bouwmeester wins the female 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year for the second time, after her win in 2017. This year – the 30th anniversary of the inaugural awards – she became the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time when she won gold in the women’s dinghy at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. That took her career tally at four Olympic medals – gold from Paris 2024 and Rio 2016, silver at London 2012 and bronze at Tokyo 2020. Marit’s Olympic success has seen her hailed as a role model after she returned to competition following the birth of her daughter in time to begin preparations for this year’s Olympics.
The Spanish pair of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel had a truly exceptional year with success at the Paris 2024 Olympics and in SailGP. Botin and Trittel won Olympic gold in the men’s skiff less than a month after taking the Spain SailGP Team from 10th to first to win the Season 4 SailGP championship. After breaking the Australian hold on the SailGP title, Botin and Trittel claimed gold in Marseille after a 49er season which also saw them win at the Semaine Olympique Francaise and the Princess Sofia Regatta.
The President’s Development Award went to the Tunisian Olympian and President of the Tunisian Sailing Federation, Hedi Gharbi. Gharbi is a dedicated and influential figure in Tunisian sailing, with a lifelong passion for the sport and an exceptional record as both an athlete and a sports leader. He participated at the Rio Olympic Games as an athlete while occupying the position of President. Currently serving his second term as President of the Tunisian Sailing Federation, he has played an instrumental role in advancing sailing across Tunisia, from grassroots programs to high-performance competitions.
World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award
Founded by Olympian and IOC Young Leader from Cyprus, Sophia Papamichalopoulos, Winds of Change aims to bridge divides and promote peace by bringing together young people from both sides of Cyprus through the unifying power of the sport of sailing. Winds of Change’s headline achievements include completing the first circumnavigation of Cyprus in 50 years, inspiring youth-led sports-for-peace activities, hosting the inaugural “Olympism for Peace” event in Cyprus, and being referenced in the UN Secretary General’s report on Cyprus.
Winds of Change has directly impacted nearly 2,000 young people and reached 80,000 others indirectly. The initiative was recognised with the “Peace Award” by the Youth Board of Cyprus in 2024, and its documentary premiered during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
World Sailing Technology Award
Northern Lights Composites (NLcomp) has pioneered sustainable solutions in boat construction, addressing environmental challenges head-on. Developer of the “ecoracer,” a winning boat in the Italian Sportboat Championship, the company has collaborated with prestigious shipyards like Grand Soleil and Beneteau to incorporate sustainable technologies into new boat designs as well as patented recyclable composite material addressing the end-of-life issues of fiberglass boats.
Northern Lights Composites tackles one of the biggest environmental challenges in the sailing industry – fiberglass boat waste. Their recyclable composite material offers a solution to boat disposal problems, pushing the industry toward more sustainable practices. By partnering with top-tier shipyards like Grand Soleil and Beneteau, Northern Lights Composites’ technology is helping to drive widespread adoption of eco-friendly construction materials. Their “ecoracer” boat has already won championships, demonstrating that sustainable technology can also be high-performing, making Northern Lights Composites a pioneer in green sailing innovation.
Team of the Year
Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti continued to dominate the Nacra 17, adding the Olympic mixed multihull gold to an impressive roster of career successes. The Italian pair are double Olympic champions in the mixed multihull, after retaining the gold won at Tokyo 2020 at Paris 2024. They also won the 2024 Nacra 17 World Championship, as well as the Princess Sofia Regatta.
Beppe Croce Trophy
Aiko Saito represented Japan at the Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and since retiring from competition has led the Japanese Olympic sailing team at the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Aiko gave the perfect demonstration of the Olympic spirit at the Tokyo Games, held at her home club of Enoshima, by providing support to all NOCs with logistics and arrangements during the pandemic, including key updates for the games when travel to the Olympic venue of Enoshima was not possible.
At Paris 2024, Aiko supported World Sailing by working as the conduit between coaches and the International Federation and OCOG, helping both organisations understand the feedback and needs of the teams and the athletes. Aiko also consulted on coach technology and ensuring compliance from coaches with the spirit as well as the letter of the rules.
For the last eight years and ongoing, Aiko has volunteered her time for free to work on World Sailing commissions, committees and working parties – ensuring the needs and interests of coaches and athletes are considered at the highest levels of the sport. She has also volunteered her time for free to support committees and commissions of the Japanese Sailing Federation since 2001.
President’s Development Award
Hedi Gharbi is a dedicated and influential figure in Tunisian sailing, with a lifelong passion for the sport and an exceptional record as both an athlete and a sports leader. Beginning his journey in the Optimist class at a young age, he quickly progressed to the national level. He represented Tunisia in both the windsurfing and catamaran classes.
He participated at the Rio Olympic Games as an athlete while occupying the position of President. Currently serving his second term as President of the Tunisian Sailing Federation, he has played an instrumental role in advancing sailing across Tunisia, from grassroots programs to high-performance competitions.
About the World Sailing Awards
World Sailing launched the World Sailor of the Year Awards in 1994 to reward individual sailors for outstanding achievements in the sport. Rolex has been sponsors of the award since 2001, celebrating more than two decades of excellence and achievement in sailing.
World Sailing and 11th Hour Racing joined forces in 2018 to celebrate the delivery of high impact and replicable sustainability within the maritime industry aligned to World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030. The winner receives a 10,000 USD prize to fund their continued sustainability efforts, and the iconic trophy made from recycled carbon fibre from an America’s Cup boat infused with bio resin.
The World Sailing Annual Conference is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Sailing Federation. The World Sailing Awards were supported by Rolex, 11th Hour Racing and Tiger Beer.
Issued on behalf of: World Sailing
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