John Gimson and Hannah Diamond teamed up in November 2014. They sail a Nacra 17, which is the new mixed multihull for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They are serious contenders for bringing home a medal.

Since they began racing together they have managed to win three International Medals. We managed to catch up with Hannah whilst the duo undertake training in Rio.

What is your first memory of boating?

I can't really remember my first boating experience because I grew up in Warsash, Hampshire and have always been in and around boats! I learnt to sail first with my Dad in a Mirror and then in Oppies at Warsash SC and one of my earliest memories is getting my hair caught in the mainsheet and having to be rescued!

What is your worst experience on a boat?

I’ve racked up quite a few crashes in the Nacra 17, but thankfully they have been injury free.

My worst memory from sailing would probably have to be from the Nacra 17 Worlds in Aarhus, in July this year. It was the first World Championships for John and I together and we were racing really well, we were second overall after qualifying and then had a good chance of a great result going into the medal race, it was 30 knots and the race committee said they would run the medal race even though all other racing had been cancelled. The windward mark was about 50m from the harbour where everyone was watching and we rounded the mark in 2nd, pulled off the bear away and then a huge gust came and wiped us out, we were thrown really far from the boat in the capsize and I managed to rip the footloop out of the deck! We finished the race in 9th and were so gutted that it dropped us to 10th overall!

And what is your best experience on a boat?

My best memory is competing at the Olympic Test Event, representing Team GB in Rio in August of this year. We didn't manage to get the result that we wanted but it was a really valuable experience to be able to have a dress rehearsal for next years Olympics. Only one boat per nation gets to compete so it was the first time that we had raced in the Olympic format and to be able to race at the venue itself exactly one year before it counts means that we could collect a huge amount of information about where our strengths and weaknesses lie, which will hopefully help us as we go into the 2016 season!

Huge thanks to Hannah for taking the time to chat to Boatshed, and best of luck to Team Diamond Gimson for what looks like it’s shaping up to be a spectacular 2016 of racing.

You can follow the progress of Hannah and John and donate to help cover equipment costs through their Facebook page.