03 May 2024
Bainbridge completes Team GB’s 14-athlete sailing team for Paris 2024
Men's kite addition sees full British sailing line-up for Paris confirmed
Connor Bainbridge has today been named as Team GB鈥檚 men鈥檚 kite athlete for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, completing the 14-strong sailing team.
Bainbridge earns his selection for Team GB following his victory at the French Olympic Week regatta last week, securing one of the five country quota places.
鈥淚t has always been my dream to go to the Olympics and it鈥檚 an unbelievable feeling for that to become a reality,鈥 said the 30-year-old from Halifax, West Yorkshire.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely not been a straight or easy road to get here, with so many twists and turns over my whole career since I started windsurfing on a freezing cold lake in West Yorkshire, but it鈥檚 all been worth it and I can鈥檛 wait to represent Team GB at this summer鈥檚 Olympics.鈥
Bainbridge won silver at the Paris 2024 sailing test event last summer, but narrowly missed opportunities to qualify Britain for a quota spot at the 2023 World Championships and European Championships.
He made amends for it at French Olympic Week, dominating the 鈥楲ast Chance Regatta鈥 fleet for unqualified nations.
Bainbridge won nine of the 15 races, and confirmed his overall victory by taking the top spot in the four-athlete final.
Mark England, Team GB Chef de Mission, said: 鈥淎fter narrowly missing out on selection last summer I am delighted to welcome Connor to Team GB for Paris 2024. Congratulations, also, to British Sailing who have qualified a full complement of sailors for the Games. We look forward watching them take to the waters of Marseille in three months鈥 time.鈥
'True grit'
Bainbridge will join Ellie Aldridge as Britain鈥檚 first ever representatives in the Formula Kite class, a new addition to the Olympic sailing roster for Paris 2024.
It will be the fastest event in the Summer Olympics with athletes hitting speeds of up to 50 miles an hour.
The athletes ride a short board with a hydrofoil fitted to it, lifting them around a metre clear of the water.
The power comes from huge kites which the athletes control using special lines attached to a bar.
Each rider has selection of four kites of different sizes that can be changed based on the wind strength and conditions.
Mark Robinson, 911制品Performance Director, added: 鈥淐onnor has shown true grit and determination to secure Britain a place on the Men鈥檚 Kite start line at Paris 2024, and we are delighted he鈥檚 been selected to represent Team GB at his first Olympics.
鈥淐onnor has shown he鈥檚 got the drive and attitude to be an Olympian, and we鈥檙e all excited to see what he can do in Marseille this summer.
鈥淚t is also fantastic that once again we will have athletes representing Britain in all ten Olympic classes as we look to continue our world-beating Olympic legacy.鈥
The sailors selected for Paris 2024 are:
John Gimson and Anna Burnet 鈥 Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17)
James Peters and Fynn Sterritt 鈥 Men鈥檚 Skiff (49er)
Freya Black and Saskia Tidey 鈥 Women鈥檚 Skiff (49erFX)
Emma Wilson 鈥 Women鈥檚 Windsurfing (iQFOiL)
Sam Sills 鈥 Men鈥檚 Windsurfing (iQFOiL)
Ellie Aldridge 鈥 Women鈥檚 Kite (Formula Kite)
Connor Bainbridge 鈥 Men鈥檚 Kite (Formula Kite)
Michael Beckett 鈥 Men鈥檚 Dinghy (ILCA 7)
Hannah Snellgrove 鈥 Women鈥檚 Dinghy (ILCA 6)
Vita Heathcote and Chris Grube 鈥 Mixed Dinghy (470)
