JUSTINE THE MACHINE

This self-effacing Swiss sailor has-in her quiet and understated way become one of the stars of offshore ocean racing in recent years, whether as part of a winning crew in The Ocean Race or building her credentials as a top-class solo racer.

- ED GORMAN

HAILING from Geneva, where she started sailing with her parents as a child, 36-year-old Justine Mettraux is something of an enigma. You won't find her talking herself up or striking a pose for the cameras. She's an athlete who manages-in this era of sponsor-driven exposure and social media-to maintain a relatively low profile.

But her record speaks for itself. Mettraux was the first female sailor to finish on the podium in the series class in the Mini Transat, when finishing second in 2013. She was part of the Team SCA crew in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15, then part of the winning Dongfeng Race Team in 2017-18. Most recently, she has been a key member of the victorious 11th Hour Racing Team in the first IMOCA Ocean Race.

Mettraux has also achieved impressive results in the Solitaire du Figaro solo championship-she was seventh in 2017-and is now a force in the upper reaches of the IMOCA fleet at the helm of Jérémie Beyou's former Charal 1. Now rebranded in the colors of her longtime sponsor TeamWork, Mettraux finished seventh in the 2018-vintage VPLP-designed foiler in the 2022 Route du Rhum. The next big challenge is the 2024 Vendée Globe, in which a top-five finish is by no means out of the question.

So, who is Mettraux? What is making her the most competitive female sailor in this area of the sport? And what attributes does she have that make her so effective? Simon Fisher, the veteran British navigator with the 11th Hour Racing Team who sailed doublehanded with Mettraux during the 2021 season and again as part of the crew in The Ocean Race, knows her as well as anyone.

He says the woman he refers to as "Juju the Machine" is deceptive. "When you first meet Juju, she is quite shy, but underneath that exterior is actually a fierce and determined competitor, and I've certainly seen that sailing with her both crewed and doublehanded," he says.