Winners of 2024 World Sailor of the Year

The 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards – the 30th year of the awards – were presented to Paris 2024 Olympic gold medalist Marit Bouwmeester (NED), the most successful female sailor at the Olympics in the sport, and the Spanish duo of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, gold medalists in the men’s skiff at Paris 2024 and winners of SailGP season 4.

Nominations for the 2024 awards considered accomplishments from January 1 to September 30. Four finalists were advanced for both awards, with the winners decided by the combined verdicts of a record 49,964 public votes and a panel of judges.

Marit 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. 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.

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 the title sponsor of the awards since 2001, celebrating more than 20 years of excellence in sailing.

Editor’s note: World Sailing celebrated Marit being the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time, which is irrelevant in selecting the winner. However, the public was given no information as to a person’s accomplishments, and no direction as to what is to be considered. If we had a vote, there were other nominees that had arguably better qualifying achievements.

Winners from left: Florian Trittel, Marit Bouwmeester, and Diego Botin

Previous recipients of the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award:
2024 Diego Botin and Florian Trittel (ESP), Marit Bouwmeester (NED)
2023 Tom Slingsby (AUS), Kirsten Neuschäfer (RSA)
2022 Ruggero Tita (ITA), Caterina Banti (ITA)
2021 Hannah Mills MBE (GBR) & Eilidh McIntyre (GBR), Tom Slingsby (AUS)
2020 Not awarded
2019 Marco Gradoni (ITA), Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN)
2018 Pavlos Kontides (CYP), Carolijn Brouwer (NED) / Marie Riou (FRA)
2017 Peter Burling (NZL), Marit Bouwmeester (NED)
2016 Santiago Lange (ARG), Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark (GBR).
2015 Peter Burling & Blair Tuke (NZL), Sarah Ayton (GBR)
2014 James Spithill (AUS), Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze (BRA)
2013 Mat Belcher (AUS), Jo Aleh & Polly Powrie (NZL)
2012 Ben Ainslie (GBR), Lijia Xu (CHN)
2011 Iker Martinez & Xabier Fernandez (ESP), Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)
2010 Tom Slingsby (AUS), Blanca Manchon (ESP)
2009 Torben Grael (BRA), Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)
2008 Ben Ainslie (GBR), Alessandra Sensini (ITA)
2007 Ed Baird (USA), Claire Leroy (FRA)
2006 Mike Sanderson (NZL), Paige Railey (USA)
2005 Fernando Echavarri & Anton Paz (ESP), Ellen MacArthur (GBR)
2004 Robert Scheidt (BRA), Sofia Bekatorou & Emilia Tsoulfa (GRE)
2003 Russell Coutts (SUI), Siren Sundby (NOR)
2002 Ben Ainslie (GBR), Sofia Bekatorou & Emilia Tsoulfa (GRE)
2001 Robert Scheidt (BRA), Ellen MacArthur (GBR)
2000 Mark Reynolds & Magnus Liljedahl (USA), Shirley Robertson (GBR)
1999 Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL), Margriet Matthijse (NED)
1998 Ben Ainslie (GBR), Carolijn Brouwer (NED)
1997 Pete Goss (GBR), Ruslana Taran & Elena Pakholchik (UKR)
1996 Jochen Schümann (GER), Lai Shan Lee (HKG)
1995 Russell Coutts (NZL), Isabelle Autissier (FRA)
1994 Peter Blake (NZL) & Robin Knox-Johnston (GBR), Theresa Zabell (ESP)

Source: World Sailing, SSN