Athena Pathway
Building a Long-Term, Equitable Pathway in High-Performance Sailing
Building a Long-Term, Equitable Pathway in High-Performance Sailing
“Sailing has made great strides forward in gender equality in recent decades, led by the Olympic side of the sport. The professional side, however, particularly in high-performance foiling sailing, is far behind where it needs to be. We as a sport are uniquely placed to drive huge global change when it comes to gender equality. High-performance sailing has no major barriers to physical entry and through the Athena Pathway we will create a gender equal pathway for all, with sustainability at its heart.” - Hannah Mills (OBE)
Athena Pathway was launched in August 2022 by Mills and Ainslie, the world’s most successful Olympic sailors, with the aim of fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing and bringing diversity into the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly. The Pathway is founded with sustainability at its core, with an ethos of ‘People, Planet and Purpose’ seeking to encourage athletes to use their voices in the fight against climate change.
The Puig Women’s and Youth America’s Cups, taking place alongside the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in September and October 2024, are a central focus for the Pathway, with the first-time inclusion of a women’s event and the renewed emphasis on supporting the next generation representing major progress for the World’s oldest sporting trophy in achieving gender equity and raising the sport’s profile for young people.
The British entry for the Women’s & Youth America’s Cup squad has a shared resume of 6 Olympic medals and 22 World Championship medals, the 12 strong squad also cements the reunion of one of sailing’s most successful competitive partnerships, with Mills and her 470 crew Saskia Clark set to race together again for the first time since winning Gold in Rio, 2016.
The other selected athletes include Tokyo Olympic Silver medallist Anna Burnet, who is set to represent Britain at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Burnet is not alone in this double selection, with Ellie Aldridge, Saskia Tidey and Freya Black also selected to race in both the Olympics and the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup competitions. Also joining the team is Mills’ Emirates GBR SailGP teammate and experienced offshore sailor Hannah Diamond, who has previously competed in the Volvo Ocean race and Rolex Fastnet. The final six Athena Pathway picks are Nick Robins, Matt Beck, Alex Hughes, James Grummett and Hattie Rogers.
The team will be supported in this challenge by leading global aerospace and maritime technology innovator Cobham-Ultra, in a continuation of the firm’s extensive investment in UK engineering skills.
Athena Pathway hopes to create more opportunities for women within the sailing industry, while also widening the pool of talent for the SailGP EmiratesGBR team (working closely with SailGP’s women’s Pathway Programme) while working towards winning the Puig Women’s & UniCredit Youth America’s Cup regattas.