49er World Champions and Volvo World sailors were crowned men’s ISAF World Sailors of the Year.
and female winners of the 2011 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year
Awards are:
Iker Martínez & Xabier Fernández (ESP) and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)
The renowned two-man crew of Iker Martínez and Xabier Fernández (ESP)
were unable to attend the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards
ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fittingly, they are currently at sea
competing for Team Telefónica in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race
from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. The Spanish duo have
won the Award eleven years after the first of their three nominations.
Through a video feed recorded on the Team Telefónica boat, the pair
confirmed that they will be celebrating this prestigious achievement
despite the immediate distractions of an ocean race.
United States athlete Anna Tunnicliffe was one of five nominees present
at the ceremony, held in the impressive Cuartel de Ballaja. It is the
second time that the ISAF Sailing World Cup champion in Women’s Match
Racing has been awarded the honour, having previously achieved the
recognition in 2009. An emotional Tunnicliffe was presented with the
ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Trophy and Rolex timepiece and
commented, “Thank you very much for this award, it is a true honour.
Congratulations to all of the other nominees, you guys are fantastic
and amazing sailors. I really have to thank everyone that’s been part of
the reason I won this award, especially my team. This is truly a team
effort. I couldn’t have done it without them. I would also like to thank
my family and my husband for being very supportive and my sponsors. It
is truly amazing. Thank you.”
