Hannah Mills facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hannah Mills
OBE

Mills in 2016
Personal information
Nationality	Welsh
Born	(1988-02-29) 29 February 1988 (age 37) Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales
Height	157 cm
Weight	50 kg
Sailing career
Class(es)	Optimist, 420, 470
Medal record Sailing Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo Women's 470 Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Women's 470 Silver 2012 London Women's 470 World Championships Gold 2006 Las Palmas Women's 420 Gold 2012 Barcelona Women's 470 Gold 2019 Enoshina Women's 470 Silver 2011 Perth Women's 470 Silver 2015 Haifa Women's 470 Silver 2017 Thessaloniki Women's 470 Bronze 2014 Santander Women's 470 Bronze 2018 Aarhus Women's 470 Junior World Championships Gold 2008 Gdynia Women's 470 European Championships Silver 2014 Athens Women's 470 Silver 2019 Sanremo Women's 470 Silver 2021 Vilamoura Women's 470 European Junior Championships Gold 2007 Netherlands Women's 470 Silver 2008 Croatia Women's 470 Star Sailors League rank Highest: 2 1 March 2022: 8

Hannah Louise Mills, born on February 29, 1988, is a famous British competitive sailor. She is a two-time world champion in the 470 sailing class, winning in 2012 and 2019. Hannah has won three Olympic medals for Great Britain. She earned a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics with her teammate Saskia Clark.

Hannah then won gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. For the 2020 Olympics, her sailing partner was Eilidh McIntyre.

Hannah is also a strategist for the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team. This team competes in the SailGP competition around the world. In 2022, Hannah and fellow sailor Ben Ainslie started a program called Athena Pathway. This program helps young and female sailors develop their skills faster. The Athena Pathway team competed in the first-ever Women's America's Cup, with Hannah as the skipper.

Hannah Mills' Early Life

Hannah Mills was born in Cardiff, Wales. She started sailing when she was 8 years old. This happened after she tried sailing during a family holiday in Cornwall. She began sailing at the Cardiff Sailing Centre, which was then called Llanishen Sailing Centre.

Hannah quickly became a skilled sailor. She joined the Welsh National Optimist Squad. In 2001, she won the British Optimist Championships. She also represented Great Britain at the Optimist World Championship in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, she was the top girl and finished fifth overall. This was the best result ever for a British sailor in that championship.

Hannah went to Howell's School, Llandaff when she was a teenager. She is part of the school's alumni program. Sometimes, she visits the school to talk about her amazing achievements.

Hannah Mills' Sailing Career

Hannah Mills at Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament in 2016.

In 2011, Hannah won a silver medal in the 470 women's class. This happened at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta and the Weymouth & Portland International Regatta.

Hannah and her teammate Saskia Clark won a gold medal at the 2012 470 World Championships in Barcelona. They had a tough start, getting a black flag in the very first race. But they worked hard and came back to win.

On August 10, 2012, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Weymouth. Hannah sailed very well throughout the event. She never finished outside the top 6 in any race. She and Saskia went into the final medal race tied with the New Zealand team. Both teams were competing for the gold and silver medals. After a good start, the wind changed suddenly. They finished 9th in that race, which gave them the silver medal.

In December 2014, Hannah and Saskia were training in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics. They were robbed during their training trip.

Hannah and Saskia won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In October 2019, Hannah was chosen as one of 12 sailors by the British Olympic Association for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Hannah was chosen to be one of the flag bearers for Great Britain at the 2020 Olympics in Japan. These Olympics took place in July 2021. On August 4, 2021, Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre won a gold medal in the women's 470 event at the Tokyo Olympics. On December 2, 2021, Hannah won the World Sailor of the Year Awards alongside Eilidh McIntyre.

Athena Pathway Program

In 2022, Hannah Mills and Ben Ainslie started the Athena Pathway program. This program helps female and young sailors develop their skills quickly. The Athena Pathway team has competed in the first-ever Women's America's Cup. Hannah Mills was the skipper of this team. Other team members included Tasha Bryant, Saskia Clark, Hannah Diamond, Anna Burnet, Ellie Aldridge, and Hattie Rogers.

The team made it through the early races. Their boat, named Athena Pathway, was beaten by the Italian team in the finals in October 2024.

Athena Pathway also created a British Youth Team. This team aimed to defend the title they won in the first youth event in Bermuda in 2017. Athena Pathway entered teams into both the 2nd Unicredit Youth America's Cup and the 2024 Puig Women's America's Cup.

Awards and Special Recognitions

In 2002, Hannah Mills was named UK Young Sailor of the Year. She also won the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year award. In 2016, Hannah won the Female World Sailor of the Year award.

Hannah received an Honorary Master of Science degree in 2013. She was also given an Honorary Doctorate in 2017 from the University of Chichester.

Hannah Mills was honored for her contributions to sailing and the environment. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours. Later, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Personal Life

Hannah Mills is married to windsurfer Nick Dempsey. They have a daughter together.

See also

In Spanish: Hannah Mills para niños