Hannah Mills

{{For|Hannah Mills the 18th-century Quaker|Hannah Mills (Quaker)}}

{{Infobox sailor

| name = Hannah Mills
{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|OBE}}

| image = Hannah Mills.jpg

| caption =

| full_name = Hannah Louise Mills

| nationality = Welsh

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1988|02|29}}

| birth_place = Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales

| height = 157 cm

| weight = 50 kg

| classes = Optimist, 420, 470

| club =

| collegeteam =

| coach =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}

| show-medals = yes

}}

Hannah Louise Mills (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and two-time world champion in the 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,{{cite news |title=Silver delight for Olympic 2012 sailor Hannah Mills |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19210016 |access-date=11 August 2012 |publisher=BBC |date=10 August 2012}} she followed this up with a gold in the same event at both the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro{{cite news |title=Rio Olympics 2016: Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark forced to wait for 470 sailing gold |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/37111996 |work=BBC News |access-date=17 August 2016}} and, partnered by Eilidh McIntyre, the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.{{Cite web |title=GB pair Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre win gold in 470 class |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/gb-win-gold-in-470-class-making-hannah-mills-the-most-successful-female-british- |access-date=4 August 2021 |work=Tokyo 2020 Olympics |publisher=Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games |language=en-US |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804101516/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/gb-win-gold-in-470-class-making-hannah-mills-the-most-successful-female-british- |url-status=dead}}

Mills is currently the on-board strategist for the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team competing in the SailGP worldwide competition. In 2022, Mills and Ben Ainslie launched Athena Pathway, a programme to help fast-track development for female and youth sailors.{{cite news |url=https://www.yachtingworld.com/americas-cup/this-is-harder-than-the-olympics-britains-hannah-mills-on-the-womens-americas-cup-154595 |title="This is harder than the Olympics" Britain's Hannah Mills on the Women's America's Cup |work=Yachting World |date=4 October 2024 |first=Helen |last=Fretter |access-date=17 October 2024}} The Athena Pathway team competed in the first ever Women's America's Cup, helmed by Mills.{{cite news |url=https://www.sailweb.co.uk/2024/10/12/italys-luna-rossa-prada-pirelli-beat-britains-athena-pathway-to-win-the-inaugural-puig-womens-americas-cup/ |title=Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli beat Britain's Athena Pathway to win the inaugural Puig Women's America's Cup |work=Sailweb |date=12 October 2024 |access-date=17 October 2024}}

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{{cite news |last=Stuart |first=Hamish |title=Hannah's Olympic boost for Welsh sailing |url=http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/159591 |access-date=14 January 2012 |newspaper=Yachts and Yachting |date=20 September 2011}}{{cite web |title=Behind Every Star – Hannah Mills and Ollie Green |url=http://www.sportwales.org.uk/news--events/news--events/our-campaigns/behind-every-star/jaz-carlin-and-bud-mcallister/hannah-mills-and-ollie-green.aspx |publisher=Sport Wales |access-date=25 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812142438/http://sportwales.org.uk/news--events/news--events/our-campaigns/behind-every-star/jaz-carlin-and-bud-mcallister/hannah-mills-and-ollie-green.aspx |archive-date=12 August 2016 |url-status=dead}} after trying sailing on a family holiday in Cornwall.{{cite news |title=Hannah Mills – the 'enigma' |url=http://www.thedailysail.com/dinghy/04/29957/the-daily-sail-takes-a-look-at-one-of-britains-most-promising-young-sailors |access-date=18 August 2016 |work=The Daily Sail}} Mills then started moving up to sail for the Welsh National Optimist Squad and winning the British Optimist Championships in 2001. She represented GBR at the 2002 and 2003 Optimist World Championship finishing first girl and fifth over-all in 2003, the best ever result by a British sailor at that championship.

Mills attended Howell's School, Llandaff in her teen years, with her now retired relative being a teacher there. She is part of the schools pay only alumnus programme, sometimes visiting the school to talk about her achievements.

Career

File:Hannah Mills and Becky James with 2016 Olympic Medals (cropped).jpg; 2016]]

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.{{cite web |title=ISAF Sailor Profile |url=http://www.sailing.org/biog.php?memberid=59279 |website=sailing.org |publisher=ISAF |access-date=14 January 2012 |archive-date=20 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120061806/http://www.sailing.org/biog.php?memberid=59279 |url-status=dead }}

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.{{cite news |title=Mills and Clark make history with first 470 Worlds win |url=http://www.rya.org.uk/skandiateamgbr/latestnews/pages/articlewrapper.aspx?pageUrl=%2Fnewsevents%2Fnews%2FPages%2FMillsandClarkinthehistorybookswithfirst470Worldswin.aspx |access-date=19 May 2012 |publisher=RYA.org.uk}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Bull |first1=Andy |title=Great Britain's Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark on brink of striking 470 gold |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/16/hannah-mills-saskia-clark-470-gold-rio-olympics |website=The Guardian |date=16 August 2016 |access-date=3 November 2016}}

On 10 December 2014, Mills and Clark were robbed at knifepoint in Rio de Janeiro while in training for the 2016 Olympics.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/sailing/30427289 BBC Sport – "Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark robbed at knifepoint in Rio", 11 December]. Retrieved 11 December 2014

Mills and Clark won gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In October 2019, Mills was named as one among 12 sailors by British Olympic Association for Tokyo 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.sailing.org/news/89317.php |title=Sailors picked as first Team GB athletes for Tokyo 2020 |access-date=2 October 2019 |website=World Sailing}}

Mills was selected as one of the GB flag bearers at the 2020 Olympics in Japan, which took place in July 2021. On 4 August 2021, Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre won a gold medal in the women's 470 at the Tokyo Olympics. On 2 December 2021, Hannah won the World Sailor of the Year Awards alongside McIntyre.

=Athena Pathway=

In 2022, Mills and Ben Ainslie launched Athena Pathway, a programme to help fast-track development for female and youth sailors. Athena Pathway has a team competing in the first-ever Women's America's Cup, skippered by Mills also including Tasha Bryant, Saskia Clark, Hannah Diamond, Anna Burnet, Ellie Aldridge and Hattie Rogers.{{Cite web |title=PUIG WOMEN'S AMERICA'S CUP UPDATE |url=https://www.americascup.com/news/3159_PUIG-WOMENS-AMERICAS-CUP-UPDATE |access-date=9 February 2025 |website=37th America's Cup |language=en}} The team made it through the heats and their boat Athena Pathway was beaten in the finals in October 2024 by the Italians.{{Cite web |date=12 October 2024 |title=Athena Pathway 'proud' to have competed in first ever Women's America's Cup Final |url=https://www.athenapathway.com/en/articles/64_Athena-Pathway-proud-to-have-competed-in-first-ever-Womens-Americas-Cup-Final.html |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=athenapathway}}

Athena Pathway also put together a British Youth Team to defend their title from the inaugural event in Bermuda in 2017. Athena Pathway entered a team into both the 2nd Unicredit Youth America's Cup and the inaugural Puig Women's America's Cup. The women's team was skippered by Mills and enrolled

Awards and honours

In 2002, Mills was voted UK Young Sailor of the Year and BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year.{{cite web |title=Hannah Mills – Team GB Profile |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/Team-GB/competitors/8662484/Hannah-Mills-Team-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613014307/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/Team-GB/competitors/8662484/Hannah-Mills-Team-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2012 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=14 January 2012}} Mills won the Female World Sailor of the Year award in 2016.{{cite news |title=World Sailor of the Year: Britain's Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark win top female prize |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sailing/37919402 |access-date=31 December 2016 |publisher=BBC |date=9 November 2016}}

Mills was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours{{cite web |title=The London Gazette – New Years Honours List |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/61803/data.pdf |access-date=30 December 2016 |issue=61803 |page=21 |date=30 December 2016}} and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to sailing and the environment.{{cite web |title=The London Gazette – New Years Honours List |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3956463 |access-date=1 January 2022 |issue=63571 |page=1 |date=30 December 2021}}

Personal life

Mills is married to windsurfer Nick Dempsey with whom she has a daughter.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sailing/2023/12/09/hannah-mills-great-britain-sail-gp-victory-ben-ainslie/ |title='My arms were spinning furiously': Hannah Mills helps grind Great Britain to SailGP victory |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Tom |last=Cary |access-date=17 October 2024}}

References

External links

{{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104183912/http://www.rya.org.uk/skandiateamgbr/meettheteam/pages/hannah-mills.aspx |date=4 January 2012 |title=Hannah Mills at the Royal Yachting Association}}
{{World Sailing|id=GBRHM15|www=hannah-mills}}
{{Team GB}}
{{Olympics.com}}
{{Olympedia}}

{{succession box

| before = Andy Murray

| title = Opening ceremony flagbearer for {{GBR2}}

| years = (with Moe Sbihi)
Tokyo 2020

| after = Tom Daley and
Helen Glover

}}

Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:Welsh female sailors (sport)

Category:Sportspeople from Cardiff

Category:Olympic sailors for Great Britain

Category:Olympic medalists in sailing