Rolex World Sailor of the Year named for 2024

Sailing’s top performers were recognised at the World Sailing Awards ceremony at Singapore’s historic Chijmes Hall, where the 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards marked its 30th anniversary.

The awards were presented to Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands, acknowledged as the most successful female Olympic sailor in her sport, and Spanish sailors Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, who earned gold in the men’s skiff at Paris 2024 and led Spain to victory in SailGP season 4.

Bouwmeester wins the female 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year for the second time, after her win in 2017. This year 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. Her 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.

Botin and Trittel had a truly exceptional year with success at the Paris 2024 Olympics and in SailGP. They 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, the duo claimed gold in Marseille after a 49er season which also saw them win at the Semaine Olympique Francaise and the Princess Sofia Regatta.

Winners were selected by a combination of public votes, with 49,964 votes cast, and an expert panel of judges.

The newly introduced Young World Sailor of the Year awards recognised Poland’s Ewa Lewandowska and Singapore’s Max Maeder.

Lewandowska won gold in the mixed 29er category at the Youth Sailing World Championships, competing alongside Krzysztof Królik, with whom she also claimed the European title and took second at the 29er Worlds. She had previously secured youth world gold in December 2023 with Julia Maria Zmudzinska.

Seventeen-year-old Maeder, who is the reigning Formula Kite World Champion, Asian Games and European Champion, also earned an Olympic bronze medal at Paris 2024. His achievements in 2024 include gold at the Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères and multiple podium finishes in the Formula Kite class. He is recognised as the youngest world champion in an Olympic sailing class and holds the distinction of being Singapore’s youngest Olympic medallist.

The 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award was presented to the Cyprus-based organisation Winds of Change, while Northern Lights Composites (NLcomp) received the inaugural World Sailing Technology Award. The Italian Olympic team, Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, won Team of the Year, building on the Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards they received in 2022. The Beppe Croce Trophy went to Japan’s Aiko Saito, recognising her extensive contributions to the sport, and Hedi Gharbi, president of the Tunisian Sailing Federation, was awarded the President’s Development Award.