British Sailing Team Update

Continuing the legacy of UK success in Olympic windsurfing, the push for glory in Tokyo 2020 continues for the British Sailing team as Richard Aspland reports.

- Richard Aspland

With less than two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the British Sailing team’s windsurfers have entered a crucial time in their quest for medals. The contingent is charged with building on the legacy created by Olympic stars like Nick Dempsey, Bryony Shaw and Penny Way – no mean feat. In fact, British athletes have stood on the Olympic windsurfing podium since Athens 2004, and while 2018 posed plenty of challenges for the young successors, they took big strides towards that benchmark.

KIERAN HOLMES-MARTIN

Leading the charge has been Kieran Holmes-Martin, a youth world champion and Youth Olympic Games medallist with bags of enthusiasm and a clear potential to excel on the international stage.

In his first year as a full-time athlete, having completed a degree in mechanical engineering in 2017, the 23-year-old has consistently placed in the top 10 at the most important regattas. Holmes-Martin’s season peaked at the Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, in August 2018. After a stellar performance in tricky, light wind conditions, he went into the double-points medal race with a shot at some silverware. A convincing victory in the race would have seen him finish on the podium but for the results of his nearest competitors – and Holmes-Martin had to settle for fourth overall. Despite his bittersweet result, he had done enough to book Britain a spot in the windsurfing competition at Tokyo 2020, and proven he has what it takes to be a medal contender.