PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Anna Tunnicliffe of Plantation, Fla., has won the women’s 2011 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year award.
Tunnicliffe and her crew recently won the 2011 Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta, the first of two selection events to determine the U.S. representative in women’s match racing, which will make its Olympic debut at London. They are No. 1 in the world rankings and won the overall gold medal for the 2010-2011 ISAF Sailing World Cup season.
Tunnicliffe also won the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year in 2009, the year after winning the gold medal in the Laser Radial class at the Beijing Olympics.
She is the third American to win the award, following Paige Railey of Clearwater, Fla., in 2006, and Ed Baird of St. Petersburg, Fla., in 2007, the year he helmed Alinghi to victory in the America’s Cup.
Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez of Spain won in the men’s category.
