British Sailing Team named for Tokyo 2020 Test Event
by Will Carson 31 May 2019 12:59 BST
15-22 August 2019
Giles Scott, Finn © Lloyd Images
The 17 athletes that will represent Great Britain at the Tokyo 2020 test event have today been revealed by the RYA. The test event, dubbed Ready Steady Tokyo, is a dress rehearsal for the Games with traditionally only one entry per nation in each of the ten classes.
The regatta, held in Enoshima from August 15 to 22 2019, is a key performance indicator in the run-up to Tokyo 2020, where Britain will aim to top the sailing medal table for the fifth time in six Games.
Topping a stellar British line-up will be Rio 2016 gold medallists Giles Scott (Finn) and Hannah Mills (470).
Scott will head to Japan fresh from being crowned European champion for the third time, while Mills and crew Eilidh McIntyre will start on the back of gold at Princess Sofia Trophy and silver at the 470 class Europeans.
Rio 2016 Olympian Dylan Fletcher and London 2012 silver medallist Stuart Bithell will contest the 49er having won the recent European Championships on home waters of Weymouth and Portland.
Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey, who both competed at Rio 2016 but with different crews, have been picked for the 49erFX spot.
In the Laser Radial two-time Olympian and former world champion Ali Young will represent Britain while Elliot Hanson, winner of World Cup Series Enoshima last year, takes the Laser spot.
London 2012 silver medallist Luke Patience will contest the men's 470 alongside Rio 2016 crew Chris Grube, while in the RS:X class Britain will field Tom Squires and European silver medallist Emma Wilson.
In the Nacra 17 class Britain has taken the opportunity to enter two teams: recently crowned Nacra 17 European champions Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface will compete alongside runners up John Gimson and Anna Burnet.
Selection for the test event, made by the RYA's Olympic Selection Committee, is a key step in the RYA's ongoing process to nominate athletes to go to Tokyo 2020 as part of Team GB.
It does not guarantee that these athletes will be picked to represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020.
"All of the chosen athletes have demonstrated medal-winning potential so far this year," said Mark Robinson, Olympic Performance Manager at the RYA.
"We are blessed with strength and depth in many classes as the results in the recent class European Championships have proven. I'm delighted with the progress of the team and am looking forward to watching them perform in the Olympic waters of Enoshima in August."
The full team for the test event is as follows:
Finn
Giles Scott (31, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire)
470 women
Hannah Mills (31, Cardiff, Wales) and Eilidh McIntyre (24, Hayling Island, Hants)
470 men
Luke Patience (32, Rhu, Scotland) and Chris Grube (34, Chester, Cheshire)
RS:X men
Tom Squires (25, Oxford)
RS:X women
Emma Wilson (20, Christchurch, Dorset)
49er
Dylan Fletcher (31, Thames Ditton, Surrey) and Stuart Bithell (32, Rochdale, Greater Manchester)
49erFX
Charlotte Dobson (33, Rhu, Scotland) and Saskia Tidey (25, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)
Nacra 17
John Gimson (36, Congleton, Cheshire) and Anna Burnet (26, Shandon, Scotland)
Ben Saxton (28, Cambridge) and Nikki Boniface (26, Polegate, East Sussex)
Laser
Elliot Hanson (25, Macclesfield, Cheshire)
Laser Radial
Ali Young (32, Wolverhampton, West Midlands)
First, Marseille!
Prior to the test event the British Sailing Team will see action at the World Cup Series finals in Marseille, the sailing venue for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Twenty athletes will compete in the week-long event, starting on Monday June 3 and concluding with medal racing on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9.
See the Marseille entry list and find the full results during the event.