Born in Cardiff, Wales, Hannah Mills is a 3-time world champion and double Olympic Champion, making her the most successful female sailor in Olympic History. From learning to sail at 8 years old, to representing GBR at the 2002 and 2003 Optimist World Championships, Hannah continued to make waves, claiming a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, followed by gold at the same event the following year.
At London 2012, Mills took silver, winning one of five sailing medals collected by Team GB at the Games. Four years later at Rio 2016, she went one better and became Olympic champion as part of her doubles pairing. Mills went on to claim silver at the 2017 470 World Championships, and has been constantly challenging for global success, with bronze in the same event in 2018, before collecting gold in 2019 and at the Olympic Games for Team GB in Tokyo 2020.
Hannah joined the Great Britain SailGP team in 2021 as part of the women’s development programme, and came onboard under the helm of captain Sir Ben Ainslie. Alongside her passion for promoting women’s sport, Hannah has been well-known throughout her career for leading from the front when it comes to sustainability.
As an athlete and SailGP’s Global Sustainability Ambassador, Hannah’s aspirations for a more inclusive sport and a more sustainable world. Together with Sir Ben Ainslie, she helped launch Protect our Future – a national campaign developed by the 1851 Trust, that aims to empower over 1 million young people and equip educators with the skills and knowledge to understand climate science and take positive action. She is also the founder of the Big Plastic Pledge, an organisation that calls on athletes and fans to reduce the use of single-use plastic in their daily lives.
