Fresh from securing the 2025 SailGP Season Championship with Emirates GBR, one of the world’s most decorated female Olympic sailors, Hannah Mills OBE, is back on the water in Barcelona to begin the next phase of her mission with Athena Pathway, the British Youth and Women’s America’s Cup Team.
Athena Pathway was launched in August 2022 by Mills and Sir Ben Ainslie with the aim of fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing and bringing greater diversity into the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly.
The team has been back on the water on board ‘Sienna’, its AC40 Race Boat, for a week of training as they set their sights on their ultimate goal of winning the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup in Naples in 2027. The team’s challenge has been made possible through the renewed commitment of Advent, a leading global private equity investor, and Cobham Ultra, two of the world’s leading innovators in aerospace and maritime technology, who are continuing their support that helped Athena Pathway secure third place in the 2024 Youth America’s Cup and finish as runners-up in the Women’s America’s Cup.
The goal of Athena Pathway is not only to build podium-ready race teams, but also to expand diversity and access across British sailing. The programme aims to establish a long-lasting pipeline that brings more women and young sailors into the top high-performance tiers of the sport. This begins with Britain’s Olympic gold-medal kite foiler Ellie Aldridge, who joins as a full-time crew member in the pilot position.
“It’s a huge step for the team to be back out on the water.” Mills said.
“It’s over a year since we crossed the finish line in Barcelona, so it felt very apt to put Sienna (our AC40 race boat) through her paces, on those same waters.
“There is a huge amount of work to be done, not only to continue developing the race team, but also to ensure we are building the pathway that will support the next generation of sailors, we couldn’t do it without the support and commitment from Advent and Cobham Ultra.”
Read the full article from Athena Pathway HERE.
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