The images of the first female Ocean Race victory are still vivid in our memories: Carolijn Brouwer was the face of the historic success in 2018. The Dutchwoman won the 13th race around the world alongside Charles Caudrelier with Dongfeng. Her celebratory photos with the trophy raised in a shower of confetti went around the world. In Brouwer's big shadow, there were two other winners in the Dongfeng team at the time, France's Marie Riou and Switzerland's Justine Mettraux, who achieved the same pioneering feat.
Justine is an outstanding sailor. Nobody works harder than her"
- Charlie Enright
Justine Mettraux is now celebrating her comeback. The 36-year-old has just impressed in her solo debut as seventh in the Route du Rhum, best Imoca skipper and best non-French woman. That and two completed Ocean Races make her the benchmark among the ten female sailors in the 14th The Ocean Race. In 2014/2015, the trained multihull specialist from Lake Geneva finished sixth in the Ocean Race with the SCA women's team. In 2021, she sailed to second place in the Ocean Race Europe with skipper Charlie Enright's 11th Hour Racing Team.
"She is an outstanding sailor. Nobody works harder than her," says Enright about his Swiss colleague. In the team under the US flag, Mettraux will alternate with sports scientist Francesca Clapcich, who is two years younger, in the Ocean Race from 15 January. The 49er FX world champion and Olympic fifth-placer comes with enormous Olympic experience. The Italian completed her Ocean Race premiere on "Turn the Tide on Plastic" with icon Dee Caffari. With the Mettraux/Clapcich combination, Enright has signed up two sought-after athletic power women who know exactly what they are doing.
Boris Herrmann relies on team players with additional qualifications
The four opposing teams have their own concepts for their fourth force on board. Some are similar to the US mix, others like Team Malizia's are very different. Boris Herrmann has opted for two Ocean Race novices, saying: "I chose them based on the fact that they are not only the best women for the race, but also the best team members. It was a recruitment criterion that they take on permanent roles in our racing team beyond the race. Just as Will is involved in performance analysis, Rosalin Kuiper is growing into the role of boat captain. Axelle Pillain is responsible for the electronics."
Rosalin Kuiper and Axelle Pillain will bring this experience to the team from 2022. The 27-year-old Rosalin Kuiper has more than 60,000 nautical miles under her belt, competed in the Ocean Race Europe as a trimmer on "AkzoNobel" and started in classics such as the Fastnet Race and Sydney Hobart Race with champions such as Chris Nicholson and Xabi Fernández.
Olympic champions with plenty of ocean race experience
In addition to her technical expertise, Kuiper also specialises in sports psychology from her studies at Leiden University, where Caro Brouwer once studied. Hobby sprinter Axelle Pillain strengthens Team Malizia as a clever mind with a penchant for sea marathons. The 32-year-old Frenchwoman holds a doctorate in applied mathematics and brings experience from the mini-transat and from working for teams such as Spindrift or the Imoca campaign "Corum L'Épargne" to the table.
Briton Annie Lush with two races around the world ("SCA", "Brunel") and Támara Echegoyen ("Mapfre") bring significantly more ocean racing experience to Guyot Environnement - Team Europe. Both have had strong Olympic careers. Dynamo Echegoyen stands out, winning gold in 2012, finishing fourth twice at the Olympics and winning two FX World Championship titles. The multi-talented Spaniard wants to fight for another Olympic medal in 2024, but will only rarely take the pressure off regular crew sailor Lush.
Three-time Vendée Globe participant for Team Biotherm
With 28-year-old lawyer and solo sailor Amélie Grassi, "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat has brought an ambitious mini and Class 40 long-distance enthusiast onto the team. Grassi was the only Class 40 skipper on the Route du Rhum. Only the mast breakage dashed her justified hopes of a top result.
The participation of Sam Davies has always been suspected, but only became known at short notice. The Brit is an experienced Imoca skipper and also brings ocean race experience on board "Biotherm". In 2014/15, the 48-year-old took part in the race as skipper of the women's team "SCA" and can also look back on three Vendée Globe participations, with a fourth firmly on the cards for 2024/25. The "Initiatives Cœur" skipper, who lives in France with her husband Romain Attanasio and their son, had already competed in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 with Paul Meilhat.
The most experienced Ocean Race sailor sails for Team Holcim - PRB
The last-minute female signings from the "Holcim - PRB" team around skipper Kevin Escoffier add further elements to the wide range of Ocean Race challengers. With three races around the world ("Amer Sports Too", then still under her maiden name Abigail Saeger, "SCA", "Brunel"), the most experienced of all Ocean Race sailors in this 14th edition has signed with Holcim - PRB: Abby Ehler, a very experienced boat captain according to former boss Bouwe Bekking and a highly experienced sailor with hundreds of thousands of nautical miles in the stern water, brings female seniority to the team under the Swiss flag.
To this end, Kevin Escoffier signed up Susann Beucke, a German sailing newcomer. The 2021 Olympic silver medallist in the 49er FX switched to the Figaro class at the beginning of the year to train for her new solo career. With her own campaign "This Race is Female" and her own Figaro, Beucke made a successful start in the new world of offshore sailing. Just one year later, the silver medallist from Japan is now celebrating her debut in the Ocean Race.
Sanni Beucke impresses with talent and motivation"
- Kevin Escoffier
"It's a lifelong dream come true for me," says Beucke, looking forward to her baptism of fire. She continues: "When the 'illbruck' became the first and only German team ever to win the Volvo Ocean Race in Kiel in 2002, I was on the water with my family to accompany them the last few miles to victory. 300,000 people were there at the time. It was incredible. I was nine years old. Since then, I've had the dream of sailing in the Ocean Race myself. Now it's about to start. It feels fantastic." Escoffier's assessment: "Sanni impresses with her talent and motivation."
All of the sailors in the five teams will get their chance to compete. Annie Lush is not the only one to predict: "Foiling brings with it many risks of injury. There will be some crew rotation. That also means more opportunities for the women. Perhaps we will also see crews with 50:50 men and women?"
