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Who Will be Crowned Sailors of the Year?

Having received nominations from around the world, the The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and Rolex recently announced the top male and female contenders for their prestigious Sailor of the Year Awards.

It’s no surprise to see that several nominees were in San Francisco last week competing in the America’s Cup World Series, as the roster of team members for that incredible event really was a who’s who of top international racers.

Although Ben Ainslie didn’t make it to the winner’s circle last week at the AC World Series, his finely honed talents helped his JP Morgan BAR team excel in the fleet racing until the final race, where Spithill (Oracle Team USA) prevailed. Ainslie has already won ISAF Rolex Yachtsman of the Year three times.

© 2012 Team JP Morgan BAR

The male nominees are:
• Ben Ainslie (GBR) – Finn – London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist & 2012 World Champion
• Mathew Belcher & Malcolm Page (AUS) – Men’s 470 – London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists, 2011 and 2012 World Champions and 2011-12 ISAF Sailing World Cup Champions
• Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) – 49er – London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists & 2011 and 2012 World Champions
• Loick Peyron (FRA) – Outright Around the World Record

And the females:
• Tamara Echegoyen, Angela Pumariega and Sofio Toro (ESP) – Women’s Match Racing – London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists
• Helena Lucas (GBR) – 2.4mR – London 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist and 2011-12 ISAF Sailing World Cup Champion
• Saskia Sills (GBR) – RS:X – ISAF Youth Sailing World Champion & European Youth Champion
• Lijia Xu (CHN) – Laser Radial – London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist

For complete profiles of the nominees, see the awards site. Winners will be announced November 6 in Dublin, Ireland.

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