ISAF ROLEX WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2002

Ben Ainslie of Great Britain and Olympic Sailors Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa of Greece Receive Sailing’s Top Award

The International SailingFederation announced the winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2002, in recognition of outstanding sailing achievement during the period 1 September 2001 through to 31 August 2002.

Ben Ainslie was awarded the male ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award 2002 by ISAF President Paul Henderson in recognition of his outstanding transition from the Laser to the Finn Class.

On being presented with the World Sailor Trophy, Ben commented:

“It is really a huge honour to be voted the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. I would like to congratulate all of the other shortlisted sailors for their successes this year and thank David Howlett who coached both myself and Star World Champions Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell.

“The Olympics are the real focus right now, but after that it’s my ambition to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race and be part of a winning America’s Cup team.”

Sofia and Emilia were nominated in recognition of their domination in the Olympic women’s double-handed event in the 470 Class.