The International Sailing Federation and Rolex have named the 10 nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards for 2008.
ISAF, the world governing body for the sport of sailing, received nominations from all over the world and short listed five men and five women.
The female nominees include the British Yngling team of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb, and Pippa Wilson, who had a record-breaking year. They are the current European, World and Olympic Champions. They held the ISAF World Sailing Rankings No. 1 position at the end of the nomination period.
Claire Leroy of France is another nominee. She was the 2007 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, and she continues to dominate her sport by winning five ISAF Graded events and successfully defending her World Champion title. She is ranked No. 1 on the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, which is a ranking she has maintained since May 4, 2005.
Australia’s Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson have also been nominated. They are the youngest gold medallists in the Olympic Sailing Competition.
Alessandra Sensini of Italy, another female nominee for best sailor of the year, has entered in the record books in 2008 as the first woman to win four gold medals in Olympic sailing history. The last female nominee is Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA. She also won her first Olympic gold medal in Qingdao, China, this year.
The male nominees are just as impressive as the women.
Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie of Great Britain has been nominated for another award. It would be his third ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award if he wins this time around.
New Zealand’s Tom Ashley won the RS:X World Championships in January 2008. He also brought home an Olympic gold medal this year.
Francis Joyon of France made a nonstop trip around the world aboard his 98-foot trimaran in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. He sailed solo and broke five records along his way.
Vincenzo Onorato of Italy and his Mascalzone Latino sailing team set a record when they won the Rolex Farr40 World Champion title for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
The last male nominee is Ian Williams of Great Britain. He has an ISAF World Match Race Ranking of No. 2 at the end of the nomination period but was ranked No. 1 from September 26 to October 27, 2007, and from June 25 to July 30, 2008.
The ISAF Member National Authorities, the national governing body for sailing around the world, will choose who will win this year. The nomination period ended September 3, 2008.
The male and female best sailor winners will be announced on November 11, 2008, in a ceremony to be held in the beautiful Quinta de Jarama in Madrid, Spain. Each winner will receive the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece.
When the winners are announced, we will be sure to let you know the results of this impressive and tough competition.
Trophy and the Rolex timepieces awarded to ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awardees in 2007. Photo credit: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi