Hannah Mills

Hannah Mills, MBE (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and 2 time world champion in the Women's 470 class, having won in 2012 and 2019. Mills won a silver medal for Team GB with her crew Saskia Clark in the 2012 Olympics,[1] and won gold in the same event at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[2]

For Hannah Mills the 18th-century Quaker, see Hannah Mills (Quaker).

Hannah Mills
MBE
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1988-02-29) 29 February 1988
Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales
Sailing career
Class(es)Optimist, 420, 470
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Sailing
Olympic Games
2016 Rio De Janeiro Women's 470
2012 London Women's 470
World Championships
2006 Las PalmasWomen's 420
2012 BarcelonaWomen's 470
2019 EnoshinaWomen's 470
2011 PerthWomen's 470
2015 HaifaWomen's 470
2017 ThessalonikiWomen's 470
2014 SantanderWomen's 470
2018 AarhusWomen's 470
Junior World Championships
2008 GdyniaWomen's 470
European Championships
2014 AthensWomen's 470
European Junior Championships
2007 NetherlandsWomen's 470
2008 CroatiaWomen's 470

Early life

Mills was born in Cardiff, Wales, and started sailing at Cardiff Sailing Centre (then Llanishen Sailing Centre) when she was 8 years old[1][3][4] after trying sailing on a family holiday in Cornwall.[5] Mills then started moving up to sail for the Welsh National Optimist Squad and winning the British Optimist Championships in 2001.[3]

Career

At the 2011 Skandia Sail for Gold regatta and the 2011 Weymouth & Portland International Regatta, Hannah won a silver medal in the 470 Women class.[6]

After suffering a black flag in the very first race of the championships, Hannah and her crew Saskia claimed gold at the 2012 470 World Championships in Barcelona.[7]

On 10 August 2012 Hannah Mills helming for Saskia Clark won a silver medal at the Olympic games in Weymouth. Mills battled hard throughout the event, not finishing outside the top 6 the entire regatta. She went into the medal race with crew Saskia Clark equal points with the New Zealand team and far enough ahead of the rest of the fleet that both boats were battling it out for Gold and Silver. After a great start, however, there was a dramatic wind shift and they came 9th in the medal race, which gave them the Silver medal.[8]

On 10 December 2014, Mills and Clark were robbed at knifepoint in Rio de Janeiro while in training for the 2016 Olympics.[9]

Mills and Clark won gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[2] In October 2019, Mills was named as one among 12 sailors by British Olympic Association for Tokyo 2020.[10]

Awards and honours

In 2002, Mills was voted UK Young Sailor of the Year and BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year.[11]

Mills won the Female World Sailor of the Year award in 2016.[12]

Mills was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours.[13]

References
  1. "Silver delight for Olympic 2012 sailor Hannah Mills". BBC. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  2. "Rio Olympics 2016: Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark forced to wait for 470 sailing gold". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  3. Stuart, Hamish (20 September 2011). "Hannah's Olympic boost for Welsh sailing". Yachts and Yachting. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  4. "Behind Every Star – Hannah Mills and Ollie Green". Sport Wales. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  5. "Hannah Mills – the 'enigma'". The Daily Sail. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  6. "ISAF Sailor Profile". ISAF. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  7. "Mills and Clark make history with first 470 Worlds win". RYA.org.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  8. Bull, Andy. "Great Britain's Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark on brink of striking 470 gold". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  9. BBC Sport – "Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark robbed at knifepoint in Rio", 11 December. Retrieved 11 December 2014
  10. "Sailors picked as first Team GB athletes for Tokyo 2020". World Sailing. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  11. "Hannah Mills – Team GB Profile". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  12. "World Sailor of the Year: Britain's Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark win top female prize". BBC. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  13. "The London Gazette – New Years Honours List" (PDF). 30 December 2016. p. 21. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
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