World Sailing Awards confirmed for 2024

The World Sailing Awards were confirmed during the 2024 World Sailing Annual Conference on 4-9 in Singapore.

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

Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and the Spanish duo of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel won the 2024 Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards. Additional recognition as follows:

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.

Young World Sailor of the Year
Poland’s Ewa Lewandowska and Max Maeder of Singapore received this new award.

Ewa Lewandowska claimed the 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 also won the European title and finished second at the 29er worlds.

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 medalist. He claimed the gold at 2024 Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères.

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 medalist.

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 recognized 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.

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 organizations 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.

Source: World Sailing