Hannah Mills OBE | Impact Champion
Hannah Louise Mills OBE (born 29 February 1988) is a British Olympic sailor, three-time world champion, and passionate climate action advocate having recently been announced as the first Impact Champion to support Sport Impact Summit.
She is renowned for her record-breaking achievements, becoming the most successful female Olympic sailor in British history after winning two gold medals and one silver across three Olympic Games. Mills’ remarkable sailing career, combined with her dedicated environmental advocacy, has earned her widespread recognition both on and off the water.
Her journey to the pinnacle of the sport began early. In 2002, Mills was voted UK Young Sailor of the Year and BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year. In 2006, she claimed her first major international title, winning the 420 World Championships, and followed this up with a gold medal at the Junior World Championships in 2008.
Her Olympic debut came at the London 2012 Games, where she won a silver medal in the 470 class with her sailing partner, Saskia Clark. The pair narrowly missed out on gold in a dramatic final race but returned at the 2016 Rio Olympics to claim the top spot on the podium.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Mills secured her second Olympic gold, this time sailing with Eilidh McIntyre. This victory made her the most successful female Olympic sailor in history at this time, adding to her already impressive tally of titles, which includes two 470 World Championships (2012 and 2019) another in the women’s 420 class (2006) and numerous World and European Championship medals.
Mills’ exceptional career was further recognised when she was named Female World Sailor of the Year in 2016 and, alongside McIntyre, won the prestigious World Sailor of the Year Award in 2021.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to sailing and the environment, Hannah Mills was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours. She continues to lead by example, both as an elite athlete and as a powerful advocate for the protection of the planet, ensuring her legacy will be felt far beyond the sailing world.
SailGP
Mills’ currently serves as a strategist for the Emirates Great Britain SailGP team. SailGP is a high-speed, global sailing competition featuring F50 foiling catamarans that can reach speeds of up to 60 mph.
As a strategist, Mills plays a critical role in making real-time tactical decisions, analysing wind patterns, and working closely with the team to position the boat for optimal performance. Her adaptability and extensive knowledge of racing make her an invaluable asset in this fast-paced, highly competitive environment.
Mills’ involvement in SailGP also aligns with her passion for sustainability, as the series promotes clean energy and minimising the environmental footprint of the sport through its Impact League and Race for the Future initiative. Her dual focus on high-level competition and climate action exemplifies her commitment to using sport as a platform to drive meaningful change.
Athena Pathway & Youth and Women’s Americas Cup
In August 2022, Mills, in partnership with Sir Ben Ainslie, launched the Athena Pathway Programme, a pioneering initiative aimed at fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing while promoting diversity within the sport.
With the first-ever inclusion of a women’s event in the America’s Cup, the programme is committed to achieving gender equity in sailing and raising the sport’s profile for younger generations. Sustainability is at the heart of the Athena Pathway, built around the ethos of “People, Planet and Purpose”, with a strong focus on empowering athletes to use their platforms to advocate for climate action.
The Puig Women’s and Youth America’s Cups, set to take place alongside the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024, have become a key focus for Athena Pathway. With the historic inclusion of a women’s event, this marks significant progress for the world’s oldest sporting trophy in the pursuit of gender equality.
The British squad boasts an impressive record, with six Olympic medals and 22 World Championship medals among the 12 athletes. Notably, Mills will reunite with her Rio 2016 gold-medal-winning partner, Saskia Clark, in what promises to be a thrilling return to competition.
Other standout athletes in the team include Ellie Aldridge, who took the Women’s Formula Kite gold medal in Marseille at the 2024 Olympics, Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Anna Burnet, Saskia Tidey, and Freya Black.
The Big Plastic Pledge
Beyond her success on the water, Mills is a leading advocate for environmental sustainability. In 2019, she founded the Big Plastic Pledge, a global movement aimed at reducing single-use plastics in sport. This initiative calls on athletes, fans, and sporting organisations to take practical actions to minimise plastic waste, such as using refillable water bottles and avoiding disposable plastic items.
Mills’ personal experiences, particularly her travels as a sailor where she witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of plastic pollution on the oceans, motivated her to take action. The Big Plastic Pledge seeks to inspire behavioural change and create lasting impact within the sporting community and beyond.