MOLLY’S STORY
messing around in boats to olympic campaigning
THE EARLY DAYS
I began messing around in boats with my sisters when we were just little girls and from there a love of being on the water was born. I began training on weekends with local clubs when I was about 12 and as the years ticked on, I started on the national race circuit in a Topper. Known as the fun class, the racing wasn’t cutthroat, but it fostered an environment in which racing was enjoyable and friendly.
trying racing
Aged 15 I transitioned into the youth class of the ILCA 4/ Laser 4.7 and was selected into the national team, something I was stoked about! Aged 17 I was then selected into the ILCA 6 National team where I competed for two years representing GBR at numerous World and European Championships at U18 events.
championship racing
In 2018 I began my studies at the University of Exeter, balancing full-time studies and full-time sailing… a crazy idea that somehow worked and I finished the U21 Europeans in 13th and the U21 Worlds in 15th – with one year left in the age group I was so excited to see what I could do the next year…. Plot twist… COVID.
lockdown -
In 2020/21 (COVID) I became a little unsure about what I wanted to do, but decided to escape to Malta where I could join a group of international sailors and continue training despite the UK lockdown. This was the best idea I could of had, where I got insight into what full time campaigning would entail and opened my eyes to the different perspectives of sailors from all over the world – Asia to the Americas.
2023 -
In 2023 I qualified myself for the British Sailing Squad, a big milestone in my career so far as it enabled me to sail full time and operate as an athlete with much greater support from the British Sailing team more widely. A sucker for workload, I had also enrolled for a master’s degree that September, so I started balancing my plates.
2024 -
2024 started with a wobble, after a not so great regatta at the Worlds in January I unfortunately picked up a medical issue that kept me sidelined for four months but it just kept the fire within me to want to continue (it also actually enabled me to finish my masters on time).
paris 2024 -
I was then fortunate to become the Olympic training partner for Team Bermuda in the lead up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, sailed in Marseille. Those were honestly some of the best months I’ve had, the inspiration I got from being in that environment and the drive it gave me was incredible.
