Dylan Fletcher joins INEOS Britannia's sailing team
by INEOS Britannia 21 Mar 00:27 PDT
Dylan Fletcher joins INEOS Britannia's sailing team © INEOS Britannia
Meet Dylan Fletcher, the newest recruit to INEOS Britannia's sailing team. Fletcher is an Olympic Champion in the Men's Skiff - 49er, winning at Tokyo 2020, as well as a three-time world champion in this discipline.
For Fletcher, this new challenge fulfils a life-long dream to be a part of a British Team challenging for the America's Cup. "It is an incredible opportunity to be part of the America's Cup. It's something that I have dreamt about for a long time, pretty much since I started my Olympic carer. I thought - well, I want to win the America's Cup for Great Britain, and I want to win a gold medal. Now I have gone and got that gold medal. Next step is to win the Cup for Great Britain."
Fletcher started sailing at the age of fourteen and quickly got the sailing bug. He quickly progressed through the 405 discipline and 29er youth class. He secured second overall at the 29er World Championships in 2006, and a European Championship silver medal and 49er World Championship bronze medal. Fletcher was then selected for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with his partner at the time Alain Sign. The pair medalled at every regatta in 2017, winning both the European and World Championships.
In October 2019, Dylan Fletcher and his partner Stuart Bithell were selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. They claimed a dramatic Men's 49er gold medal as they narrowly edged out Germany and New Zealand in a nail-biting finish. It was Team GB's first Olympic gold in the discipline.
Fletcher's first memory of the America's Cup goes back to a time before he had even stepped into his first dinghy. As a small child, age 10, his father gave him a book by Dennis Connor about the Cup... So this opportunity means a lot to him.
"It is really exciting to have an opportunity within the team, given that I had a strong Olympics with Stu. Then to progress from that to doing some Moth sailing, and then to be a part of an America's Cup team, which has been my ultimate goal for such a long time. I think it's something you try to work alongside your Olympic career, so to finally be a part of it is almost a huge relief to have got here and been given this opportunity."