What do you do after winning Olympic gold? Just ask Hannah Mills

At just eight years old, Hannah Mills fell in love with sailing during a family holiday in Cornwall, UK. That week-long course on a tiny boat sparked a passion that would take her all the way to the Olympics. “I just completely fell in love,” she says. Fast-forward a couple decades, and that wide-eyed kid from Cardiff stands as the most decorated female sailor in Olympic history—she’s won Olympic gold (twice), been named Rolex World Sailor of the Year (also twice), and is a bonafide legend in the world of competitive sailing.

But these days, Mills is chasing something bigger than medals: purpose. After witnessing ocean pollution firsthand during the Rio 2016 summer games, she’s become a leading voice for sustainability in sport. Between co-founding the Athena Pathway—a programme that opens doors for women and youth in sailing—and serving as strategist for the Rolex GBR SailGP team, she’s building a faster, fairer future for the sport she loves.

You’re one of the most decorated female sailors in Olympic history. Does that ever blow your mind?

Completely. When you start out in a sport and find a passion for something that is so deep, it’s the most incredible thing in the world. Being able to call sailing my job, competing in the Olympic Games—in particular a home Olympic Games as my first (London 2012)—I feel incredibly lucky. My only goal growing up was going to the Games and trying to win a gold medal, so to look back and see everything I’ve managed to achieve (with a lot of support) is pretty crazy. Being part of the Rolex family of Testimonees was an accolade I had never expected, but it’s something I’m incredibly proud to be a part of.

How did your love affair with sailing begin?

When I was eight and on a family holiday in Cornwall. I did a weeklong sailing course and, luckily, my parents enabled me to carry on when we got home to Cardiff. We found a tiny sailing club on a small reservoir, and I spent the rest of the summer having the best time there. Soon after, I realised you could race boats. And for a very competitive child who loved all sports, this was the best news ever!

What does your role as strategist on the GBR SailGP Team involve?

My role is to be the eyes of the boat. A large part of my role is avoiding collisions—there are 12 boats racing around a very tight course, all going between 60 and 100 kph. I’m communicating with our driver about the fastest route, taking into account the wind, race marks, and where the other boats are. So, it’s pretty hectic.

Do you have a lucky charm or pre-race ritual?

I don’t have a pre-race ritual or lucky charm other than perhaps my daughter, Sienna, who’s two.

What’s something people would be surprised to learn about life on a catamaran?

That we can actually hear each other really clearly even though we’re going up to 100 kph! We race with headsets and microphones, which block out a lot of wind noise.

You’re also shaping the future of the sport. Was there a moment that flipped the switch from athlete to advocate?

Sailing with purpose became meaningful to me back in my Rio 2016 Olympic campaign, where I witnessed the plastic pollution crisis firsthand. I’d never sailed anywhere it was as prevalent and obvious. And it made me realise that I have a platform to try and create positive change. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I also worked on a campaign called the Big Plastic Pledge, where I brought together as many athletes and stakeholders as I could to reduce the use of single-use plastic in sport. When SailGP launched its Women’s Performance Programme and I became part of the Emirates GBR Team, it felt like the perfect job. SailGP started with impact and purpose at its core. They have two trophies in the League: The Championship and the Impact League. All teams race on the water to win, but also off the water for positive impact focusing on areas like reducing carbon footprint and waste, [and promoting] diversity and inclusion and Women’s Pathway opportunities. Sir Ben Ainslie and I launched the Athena Pathway in the UK, which is specifically around giving more opportunity to young people and women in our sport both on and off the water.

Which Rolex do you wear most often—and is there one you reserve for special occasions?

I am very proud to wear my Yacht-Master 37 in Oystersteel and platinum, which I won when I took home the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Title in 2016. I am so excited to be getting the Yacht-Master 37 in Everose Gold very soon.

What are some things that bring you joy personally?

My daughter. She is changing so much that every day it feels like there’s something new to learn about her. My husband’s two boys, Thomas, 15, and Oscar, 13, are so much fun, and we love to play golf or go out on the water wing foiling or sailing together. Family time is definitely what brings me the most joy.

Hannah’s quick ones:

My go-to breakfast before a day on the water: Anything I can keep down! I get quite nervous, but usually eggs on toast

The best gift I’ve ever received: My Rolex Yacht-Master

The best advice I’ve ever been given: “Back yourself” from [fellow Olympic gold medallist sailors] Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson before the London Games—it changed everything.

What’s always in my gear bag: Towel—or at least it should be

A sailing moment that still gives me chills: Winning gold in Rio

The meal I crave after a race: Thai food or pasta

The thing I miss most when I’m away from Britain: A good flat white

My secret skill: Wing foiling. Although it’s not that secret and I’m not that skilled

The book I always recommend to friends: Harry Potter!

The song that always lifts my mood: ‘Dance the Night’ by Dua Lipa

The sport I’d be obsessed with if I weren’t a sailor: Golf or tennis!