Welsh sailing star Mills takes world title
REIGNING Olympic gold medallist Hannah Mills and crew Eilidh McIntyre (pictured right) were yesterday crowned 470 class world champions in a nail-biting finale on the waters of the Tokyo 2020 sailing venue.
The pair defeated home-town heroes Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka, the 2018 champions, in a thrilling medal race battle to claim the top spot in Enoshima by just three points.
It is the first time the duo, who joined forces in 2017 after Mills’ London 2012 and Rio 2016 crew Saskia Clark retired, have won a world championship title.
Crucially the result is a serious statement of intent as the pair head into the Ready Steady Tokyo sailing test event, a dry run for Tokyo 2020, starting in Enoshima on August 17.
“It’s amazing and such a relief to come out on top,” said Mills, 31, from Cardiff, who last won the 470 World Championships alongside Clark in 2012. “I couldn’t be happier or prouder to do it alongside Eilidh. What a week it’s been.
“We have had a lot of medal races where we have messed up through things we have done, but today we wanted to go out and sail our own race,” Mills added.
“If we lose because someone sails better than us then okay, but we didn’t want to lose because of something we have done. We managed to execute our plan but it was totally nail-biting for us in the boat.”
Mills and McIntyre will only get to enjoy a few days of rest before going into battle again – this time in the Tokyo 2020 test event.
Mills said that despite their world championship victory, winning was not key to their campaign at this stage.
“Everyone needs a confidence boost but everyone is different as athletes and competitors,” she said.
“For me it’s not so much about doing it this year, but about our processes and us and our team getting our environment and time in Japan right.
“It’s about learning, and it has really shocked us how hot it is. It has been full on.”