Few awards in sailing carry the weight of the Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Established in 1994, it stands as the sport's most coveted individual honour, shining a light on those who have pushed performance to its absolute limits across every discipline, from Olympic dinghy racing to solo ocean circumnavigation and everything in between.
This year's ceremony is set for 5 November 2025 in Ireland, held during the World Sailing Annual Conference. Athletes, designers, officials and partners will gather to mark a year of achievement on the water. Each winner takes home a Rolex timepiece and earns a place among legends of the sport, names like Peter Blake, Ben Ainslie, Marit Bouwmeester and Hannah Mills.
The 2025 shortlists span the full breadth of sailing, and for New Zealanders there is particular reason to pay attention.
Peter Burling heads the male nominees, fresh from one of the most commanding performances in America's Cup history. Skippering Emirates Team New Zealand to a 7-2 victory over INEOS Britannia in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup, he now holds the record for the most America's Cup race wins of any sailor, with 22 to his name.
The America's Cup triumph was far from Burling's only headline result of the year. He claimed line honours in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race aboard the Ultim trimaran SVR-Lazartigue, and at the helm of the Black Foils NZL SailGP Team he co-led his squad to joint top position in the 2025 SailGP season following wins in Dubai and Portsmouth. Away from racing, Burling and long-time teammate Blair Tuke co-founded the Live Ocean Foundation, an initiative dedicated to marine conservation and ocean research.
France's Charlie Dalin rewrote the boundaries of solo offshore sailing with his 2024-25 Vendée Globe campaign, finishing in 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes 49 seconds, nine days inside the previous record. With the Route du Rhum and multiple Figaro series victories already on his CV, Dalin's combination of precision and relentless drive has cemented his standing as one of the most respected solo sailors on the planet.
Fellow Frenchman Alexis Loison brings a different kind of consistency to the shortlist. Across 2025 he collected major victories in the SPI Ouest France, the Fastnet Race, and the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, demonstrating the tactical sharpness and endurance that have made him one of France's great all-round sailors across both single-handed and crewed competition.
Spain's Jordi Xammar Hernández completes the male nominees. A serial medal-winner in the 470 Class, he swept both the European and World Championship titles in 2025 alongside a new teenage crewmate, Marta Cardona Alcántara, after only weeks sailing together. Xammar also took the Switch One Design Foiling Under-75 kg World Championship, underlining a versatility that sets him apart across disciplines.
Among the female nominees, Martine Grael's place in sailing history took on yet another dimension in 2025. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion became the first woman ever to win a SailGP fleet race, guiding the Mubadala Brasil SailGP Team to victory in New York. Carrying on a family legacy that has defined Brazilian sailing for generations, Grael has grown into a powerful symbol of leadership and representation at the elite level.
Allison Bell's story is of a different character altogether. Skippering her 59-year-old Cal 40 Restless without professional crew, Bell became the first female skipper to win the Transpacific Yacht Race in the event's 119-year history. Her grassroots campaign, combined with her current role as Vice Commodore of San Diego Yacht Club and decades of service to the sport, has resonated far beyond the race results.
Justine Mettraux added Swiss sailing to the record books with her 2024-25 Vendée Globe campaign. Finishing eighth in a time of 76 days 1 hour 36 minutes, she became the fastest woman ever to complete the solo, non-stop circumnavigation. Her broader résumé includes Volvo Ocean Race experience and a string of Solitaire du Figaro podiums, marking her as one of the finest sailors her country has produced.
Perhaps the most extraordinary story on the entire shortlist belongs to Jazz Turner. At 26, the Para inclusive sailor from Great Britain became the first known female wheelchair user to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the British Isles. Her 2,070-mile voyage was anything but straightforward, testing her through storms, groundings and exhaustion before she returned to Brighton Marina after four weeks at sea. Turner raised more than £50,000 for Sailability in the process, funding boats for athletes with disabilities and leaving a legacy that extends well beyond the voyage itself.
The Kuehne + Nagel Young World Sailor of the Year award, launched in 2024, celebrates sailors under 21, and the 2025 shortlist is every bit as compelling as the senior categories.
On the male side, New Zealanders Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush are nominated after winning the 2025 Open 49er European Championship by a commanding 54-point margin. Australia's Rory Meehan claimed the 2025 U19 iQFOiL World Championship while competing across youth and senior fleets, while compatriot Grae Morris arrived at the Paris 2024 Olympics and left with a silver medal, backing it up with multiple iQFOiL international titles. Greece's Nikolaos Pappas is perhaps the most startling name on any of the lists, just 13 years old and already the 2025 Optimist World Champion after defeating 213 sailors in Slovenia.
The female youth nominees are equally impressive. Poland's Antonina Puchowska and Alicja Dampc won gold at both the 2025 29er European and World Championships. Marta Cardona Alcántara appears in this category as well as the senior women's list, recognised for her dual 470 World and European Championship titles alongside Jordi Xammar after their rapid-fire partnership. Italy's Maddalena Maria Spanu remained undefeated throughout 2025 in WingFoil Racing, adding a second world title to her collection. Israel's Tamar Steinberg rounds out the female youth nominees with gold and silver medal results across 2025 iQFOiL events, making an impression in both youth and senior competition.
The Team of the Year finalists reflect the sport's extraordinary range. Emirates Team New Zealand secured a third consecutive America's Cup victory with their 7-2 Match win in Barcelona, confirming their place as the dominant force in the modern Cup era. Ireland's Headcase tells a very different story: a grassroots J/24 crew who, after years of perseverance, finally claimed the 2025 J/24 World Championship. France's Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, led by Pauline Courtois, are five-time Women's Match Racing World Champions.
Spain's Yes We Sail entry may be the most innovative nomination of all. The team developed ground-breaking technology allowing blind skipper Dani Anglada Pich to sail solo around the Isle of Wight unaided, using a haptic vest linked to wind and waypoint sensors. It represents a genuine milestone for inclusive sailing.
The 2025 shortlist captures the full spectrum of what the sport can be: elite professional campaigns, grassroots perseverance, barrier-breaking solo voyages, and teenage prodigies winning world titles. Voting is open to the public through the World Sailing website, with winners to be announced at the World Sailing Awards Gala in Ireland on 5 November 2025. For New Zealand followers, Peter Burling, Seb Menzies, George Lee Rush, and Emirates Team New Zealand all carry Kiwi hopes into that evening.
