2019 ROLEX WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
30 Sep 2019The line-up of Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2019 nominees has today been announced by World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, and Rolex, the leading name in prestige watches that includes watches engineered specifically for sailing.
Three female and four male nominees represent the success stories in the beautifully diverse and dynamic sport of sailing. Young and old nominees truly highlight the sport as one that can be participated in at the highest level throughout a sailor's career. The nominees have performed at the highest level over the last 12 months and continue to inspire globally.
The 2019 Rolex World Sailor of the Year nominees are:
Female
Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA) - 2018 PWA World Tour Slalom World Champion
Violeta del Reino (ESP) - 2019 Para World Sailing Championship Hansa 303 World Champion
Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) - 2019 Laser Radial World and European Champion
Male
Antoine Albeau (FRA) - PWA World Tour Slalom World Champion
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) - 2019 470 World, European and Hempel World Cup Series Champions
Marco Gradoni (ITA) - 2018 and 2019 Optimist World Champion
Francis Joyon (FRA) - Route du Rhum winner
The female and male winners will be announced at the World Sailing Awards Ceremony in Bermuda on 29 October 2019. Each winner will be presented with the unique marble and silver trophy depicting the globe, crowned with five silver spinnakers representing the continents, together with a Rolex timepiece.
From Tuesday 22 October 2019, members of the public will be invited to vote for who they think should be crowned the 2019 Rolex World Sailor of the Year. The public vote will contribute to 50% of the overall count with the remaining 50% to be decided by World Sailing's Member National Authorities.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS)
Remarkable consistency, outstanding performance and gold medals are synonymous to Australian 470 sailors Mat Belcher and Will Ryan.
The Australian duo are the leading lights in the Men's 470 and over the last 12 months they have set the performance bar higher than ever.
Throughout the nomination period, the pair have won when it's really mattered. They first clinched the 470 European title in San Remo, Italy in May - their fourth European title together. They followed up with victory at the Hempel World Cup Series Final in Marseille, France before heading to Enoshima, Japan, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic venue, for a triple header that would define their year.
Up first, the 470 World Championship in a 52-boat fleet. The pair were set for a straight shootout for gold against Spanish rivals in the Medal Race, but their opponents' OCS handed the title to the Australians. It was the pair's fifth world title together and Belcher's eighth in total.
READY STEADY TOKYO - Sailing, the Olympic test event, followed just days later and once again the Australians prevailed by a narrow margin. Belcher and Ryan then signed off their Japanese tour with their third gold medal in almost as many weeks as they took the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima honours.
Their success on Olympic waters has positioned them firmly as favourites for Tokyo 2020 and on current form, it's hard to picture anyone stopping them.
Source: World Sailing