Snellgrove not getting carried away with Olympic chances

By James Reid

Hannah Snellgrove is not getting carried way with her Olympic podium chances despite two first-place finishes boosting her chances on Saturday.

Snellgrove was first across the line in two of the three races in an extended day of sailing, and now sits in third place in the ILCA 6 class at Paris 2024.

The 34-year-old from Lymington sits behind two Olympic champions in Marit Bouwmeester and Anne-Marie Rindom, but is simply focussed on enjoying her experience in the Marseille Marina.

She said: “We've done six races now so today was a big day out on the water.

“We had three races because we were one behind schedule. I got two firsts in the first two races today, which is really good.

“It's obviously really cool, sort of feel like I can tick 'win a race in the Olympics off a bucket list somewhere. I think I'm up in third overall, so that's pretty cool. We've got two more days of fleet racing to go so just keep chipping away.”

An extra race on Saturday came because of light winds but Snellgrove remained calm amidst more time spent on the quayside.

“I think it was just one of those really, it was quite light winds, really tricky, funky days where there's big pressure differences,” she added.

“I think you've just got to be aware that it's a big fleet for us, we've got 43 boats and people are going to have some high scores so I think just not panicking and if you find yourself down in the fleet, just chip away one boat at a time.”

Snellgrove is making her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, 26 years after first stepping onto a boat and 19 years after writing in her diary that she wanted to become an Olympian.

“I wrote in a diary when I was 15 that I was going to go to the Olympics one day,” she said.

“I don't know whether I actually believed it was ever going to happen and it did take about 10 years longer than originally planned but it's been quite a journey to get here, so I'm just trying to enjoy every moment really.

“I've actually got about 26 friends coming out tomorrow and the day after to be here for the end of the regatta, and [they're] from all walks of life, from sailing, from university and from school.

“My partner and some of his friends as well, so that'll be really lovely to share the end of the games with them.”

Follow the British Sailing Team at Paris 2024 on Instagram at @britishsailing and on www.britishsailingteam.com