Danish sailor Anne-Marie Rindom and Brazilian sailor Martine Soffiatti Grael are two of the greatest sailors in the world at the moment and vying for the top spot in the SSL Global Skipper Ranking and the SSL Women’s Skipper Ranking.
Rindom is the reigning Olympic champion in the ILCA 6, having won gold at Tokyo 2020, and continues to post top results in a class which is notoriously difficult to dominate, including winning the 2022 World Championship in Texas, U.S.A.
Grael is also a reigning Olympic champion, having won gold at Tokyo 2020 in the 49er FX class. She had the added pressure of defending her title, as she also won gold at Rio 2016 in her home country. Since then, she’s also won the 2022 FX Europeans in Aarhus, Denmark and more recently the 52 Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía 2023.
It’s no wonder these two superstars have been trading the top spot on the SSL Women’s Skipper Ranking, and are 500 points ahead of third placed Odile Van Aanholt.
With the Allianz Sailing World Championships, The Hague taking place in August more valuable ranking points will be on the line so, while they will be sailing in different fleets, they will no doubt be keeping a close eye on each other’s results, giving extra motivation to win, if it were needed for these athletes.
One place they do get to compete against each other head-to-head is in the SSL Gold Cup, where they play important roles in SSL Team Denmark and SSL Team Brazil. The beauty of the event is that it brings the very best from each country to race against each other. The one-design SSL47 keelboats give each team a level playing field and reward the greatest sailing skill and the most cohesive teams.
We at the SSL will of course be keeping a close eye on both sailors as their Olympic campaigns continue, and see how their national teams fare at the SSL Gold Cup in November!
Mark has been managing sailing websites since 1996, always being at the forefront of technology, and now manages the combined Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com network. He has covered events such as the International Moth World Championship and Cowes Week, focusing on the sailors' thoughts and words. Mark has been European Champion in the Farr 30 & J/24 class and has won numerous UK titles, and competes regularly in local and national events in dinghies and sportsboats.
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