The wait is almost over - SailGP is heading to Rio de Janeiro, and the ENEL Rio Sail Grand Prix promises to be as unpredictable as it is unmissable.
Guanabara Bay is one of the most visually spectacular venues in world sport - and one of the most tactically brutal, where unpredictable winds and powerful tidal flows keep even the sharpest sailors guessing.
Fourteen F50 sailors won medals on these waters in 2016 - but none know Guanabara Bay quite like Mubadala Brazil's Martine Grael, who has raced here since childhood.
MARTINE GRAEL: QUEEN OF THE BAY
Martine Grael has sailed in Guanabara Bay since childhood, watched her father and uncle race its unpredictable winds and won Olympic gold on these waters. Now, as SailGP's first female driver, she’s bringing the world's fastest sail racing to South America for the first time - and she's ready to put on a show.
There’s a jacket in Martine Grael's wardrobe - ten years old, starting to show its age - that tells the story better than any press release. It dates back to the 2016 Olympics, when Grael and Kahena Kunze held off New Zealand by two seconds in the final race to win gold in the 49erFX class, setting off celebrations on Flamengo Beach that saw them carried ashore on their skiff by a crowd wading into the surf.
A decade on, Guanabara Bay will host the largest and loudest sailing event it has seen since. SailGP arrives in Rio de Janeiro on April 11-12 for the ENEL Rio Sail Grand Prix - the championship's South American debut - and at the wheel of the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team is the same sailor who knows these waters better than anyone on the startline.
A bay of secrets
Ask any of the rival drivers what they know about racing on Guanabara Bay and the honest answer is: not much. Sugarloaf Mountain to one side, the Serra do Mar range to the other - the geography that makes Rio so visually spectacular is the same geography that makes it a puzzle on the water. Grael grew up sailing here, but she is under no illusions that local knowledge translates to an easy weekend.
"You've got mountains just to windward of the race area, which create a lot of twists and turns in the wind," she explains. "The wind can come from two different sides of the mountains, which makes it very tricky. It's not an easy place to sail, especially if you're coming in without much experience there."
The currents compound the challenge. Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, nations poured significant scientific effort into modelling tidal flows in the bay in a bid to get the upper hand. The conclusion, as Grael puts it with characteristic directness: "It's incredibly hard to predict." Tides, wind influence, temperature layers - everything interacts, and everything shifts. "In the end, it's about observation. You don't need a fancy model, you just have to look at what the water is doing at that moment."
There is one equaliser: the F50 fleet will be navigating these conditions largely blind. "It's good that it's a bit new for everyone," Grael acknowledges. And if the wind direction shifts even slightly - as it routinely does when funnelled between two mountain ranges - everything changes. Every race. Every lap.
More than a home Grand Prix
The event was supposed to happen last year. It didn't - a late withdrawal due to equipment issues left Brazilian fans, who had built themselves into a considerable frenzy, waiting. That anticipation hasn't dissipated. If anything, it has grown.
"We missed the event there last year, so I think there's a bit of extra hype for it to finally happen," Grael says. Her own sense of what's at stake goes well beyond points and standings. "There's a big hype around it in the sailing world, of course, but it's also just a huge event for Rio. For me, being from Guanabara Bay, getting to see friends and having people come to watch - it's really special."
THE RIO OLYMPIC MEDALISTS LIGHTING UP SAILGP
The influence of the Class of 2016 remains profound, with 14 athletes boasting medals won in Rio.
SailGP shares a powerful synergy with the Olympics, merging traditional mastery with the high-tech future of racing. The influence of Rio 2016 remains profound, with 14 athletes across the 13 teams boasting Olympic medals won on the iconic waters of Guanabara Bay.
As SailGP prepares for its South American debut with the ENEL Rio Sail Grand Prix, we take a look at the Rio medal winners throughout the F50 fleet.
Martine Grael | Mubadala Brazil
In one of the most iconic moments of the Rio Games, Martine Grael clinched 49erFX gold on her home waters of Guanabara Bay. After a week of grueling competition, Grael and Kahena Kunze won a nail-biting medal race by just two seconds, sparking a legendary beach celebration. Now, as the first female driver in SailGP history, Grael is applying that same aggressive, home-grown instinct to lead the Mubadala Brazil team into a new era of foiling.
Hannah Mills | Emirates Great Britain
Entering Rio 2016 with a point to prove after London silver, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark delivered a clinical masterclass in the 470. The duo dominated the field so thoroughly they essentially secured gold with a race to spare, eventually finishing a massive 20 points clear. Today, Mills brings that same championship composure to Emirates GBR, where her tactical brilliance as a strategist is a cornerstone of the British squad's podium ambitions.
Giles Scott | NorthStar
Giles Scott arrived in Rio under immense pressure to maintain Britain’s 16-year winning streak in the Finn class. He didn't just meet expectations, he crushed them. Despite a rocky 17th-place start, Scott rallied to win the gold medal with a race to spare, proving his mastery of Rio’s unpredictable shifts.
Tom Burton | Red Bull Italy
Tom Burton’s Rio gold was a triumph of tactical warfare. Trailing in second before the final race, Burton executed a brilliant "catch and release" maneuver to force his closest rival to the back of the fleet, eventually clawing his way through the pack to secure the top step. That signature "Laser focus" and strategic cunning are now being passed on to the Red Bull Italy squad, which Burton joined as coach for the 2026 Season.
Kahena Kunze | ROCKWOOL Racing
The tactical engine behind Brazil's 49erFX gold, Kahena Kunze’s performance in Rio was a display of pure agility and elite communication. Navigating the fluky winds of the Sugarloaf course, she and Martine Grael held their nerve to win the final sprint to the finish line. Today, Kunze brings that gold-medal intensity to ROCKWOOL Racing as strategist for the Danish outfit.
Jo Aleh | Switzerland
Despite a week plagued by disqualifications and technical setbacks, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie displayed incredible tenacity to fight back from the middle of the pack and claim a 470 silver in Rio. Their resilience was the story of the regatta, proving that Aleh never counts herself out. Now a veteran leader for the Switzerland team, her ability to navigate "impossible" situations makes her one of the most respected strategists on the circuit.
Nathan Outteridge | Artemis SailGP
Defending their London title in Rio, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen faced a "nerve-wracking" battle for the podium. In a high-stakes medal race, Outteridge’s calm under fire allowed the pair to leapfrog their rivals and secure a hard-fought silver in the 49er, beaten to the top spot by New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Outerridge is now back behind the wheel of an F50 as the driver for SailGP’s newest team Artemis SailGP.
Iain Jensen | BONDS Flying Roos
The technical foil to Outteridge’s helm, Iain "Goobs" Jensen was instrumental in securing 49er silver in Rio. His ability to find boat speed in the tricky, tidal conditions of Guanabara Bay ensured the Aussies remained a constant threat. Now bringing that expertise to the BONDS Flying Roos as a wing trimmer after winning the Rolex SailGP Championship with Emirates GBR, Jensen remains one of the most influential figures in the F50 fleet.
Jason Waterhouse | BONDS Flying Roos
Cousins Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin nearly pulled off the ultimate comeback in Rio’s Nacra 17 class. Entering the medal race in fourth, they sailed the "best race of their lives" to finish second, missing out on gold by a single point. That multihull mastery was the perfect audition for SailGP: Waterhouse has been flight controller for the BONDS Flying Roos since Season 1 of SailGP. Darmanin will also be known to fans as SailGP’s on-water commentator and event reporter.
Will Ryan | Red Bull Italy
In a 470 medal race that looked more like a match race, Will Ryan and Mat Belcher showcased legendary grit. Despite Ryan briefly falling out of the boat during a frantic maneuver, the pair recovered instantly to cross the line for a silver medal. That "never-quit" athleticism is now a vital component of the Red Bull Italy crew, where Ryan’s physical strength and Olympic-grade stamina power the team's hydraulic systems.
Sam Meech | Artemis
Sam Meech’s bronze in the Laser class was a testament to consistency. In one of the most physically demanding classes in Rio, Meech stayed in the hunt through ten grueling races, eventually clinching the medal with a clutch performance in the final sprint. Now transitioning to a coaching role with Artemis, Meech uses his deep understanding of fleet positioning and starting-line psychology to give the Swedish team a tactical edge.
Erik Heil | Germany by Deutsche Bank
Erik Heil’s journey to Rio 2016 bronze was anything but easy, overcoming a pre-Olympic illness to deliver a podium performance in the high-skiff 49er class. Alongside Thomas Ploessel, Heil’s aggressive and intuitive style was perfectly suited to the challenging Rio racecourses. As the driver for the Germany SailGP Team, Heil has brought that same "full-throttle" mentality to the F50, turning the German outfit into a serious threat.
Anne-Marie Rindom | ROCKWOOL Racing
Securing Denmark’s first-ever Olympic medal in a Laser Radial class, Anne-Marie Rindom’s bronze in Rio was the spark that ignited her legendary career. Her ability to stay mentally tough as nails through a high-pressure week made her a national hero. And it was just the beginning of a stellar run of Olympic medals that included a gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris. Rindom is now back with ROCKWOOL Racing having given birth to her first child in late 2025.
Matt Gotrel | Switzerland
A gold medalist on a different kind of water, Matt Gotrel was part of the history-making Team GB Men’s Eight rowing team that stormed to victory in Rio. The powerhouse oarsman helped deliver Britain’s first Olympic gold in the event since 2000 through sheer physical dominance. That world-class engine has since been repurposed for the Swiss SailGP Team, where Gotrel provides the raw hydraulic power as a grinder to keep the F50 flying at breakneck speeds.