Please select your home edition
Edition
Hyde Sails 2024 - One Design

SailGP's elite athletes warm-up for racing with the Royal Australian Navy on Sydney's Bondi Beach

by SailGP 21 Feb 2024 23:37 PST 24-25 February 2024
Guy Endean, grinder of Switzerland SailGP Team, Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer, grinder of Germany SailGP Team, Eliot Merceron, grinder of Switzerland SailGP Team, and Anna Barth, strategist of Germany SailGP Team, take part in a Royal Australian Navy training © Simon Bruty for SailGP

Physical training instructors and trainees from the Royal Australian Navy welcomed a cohort of SailGP world-class athletes to Sydney with a navy-inspired training session on the iconic Bondi Beach, ahead of the highly anticipated KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix Sydney this weekend, February 24-25.

SailGP's world class athletes from five nations whom are set to compete in Sydney were put through their paces by the Royal Australian Navy, with a warm up designed to give them a first hand experience of the precision of the Australian Defence Force physical training techniques, offering them a glimpse into the world of Australia's elite military personnel.

Bondi Beach served as the perfect backdrop for the workout where 12 SailGP athletes from Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and the United States took part in a range of workout drills involving bootcamp-style bear crawls, tyre flips and team relays.

The session highlighted the remarkable synergy between the rigorous training regimes, resilience, and precision of the Royal Australian Navy and those of the high-performance athletes of SailGP. Just as the Royal Australian Navy exemplifies these traits, SailGP athletes also demonstrate a similar demand for precision, agility and split-second decision-making, essential for navigating the cutting-edge F50 catamaran, which can reach speeds of up to 100kp/h.

Australia SailGP Team Driver and CEO, Tom Slingsby said: "Today's training session not only celebrates our league's record fifth arrival to Sydney but also underscores the shared ethos of courage, discipline and excellence that unites us all, and what better place to do it than on Australia's most famous beach!."

"It was challenging to say the least, but it was an incredible opportunity for us to learn from some of the finest, high performing professionals in the world. I hope we can take some inspiration from today and inject that into our races this weekend to hopefully secure our first win of the season for Australia."

Petty Officer Physical Training Instructor Robert Pope said: "It was obvious today that there are many similarities between the high performance of our Navy people and the SailGP elite athletes. It was great to show the SailGP teams a glimpse into some of the Royal Australian Navy's training exercises."

The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney will take place on 24-25 of February, with thousands of Australian fans expected to descend on Sydney Harbour to witness the Australia team compete against nine rival nations.

Slingsby's Australia team will be aiming to extend its lead at the top of the SailGP Season 4 leaderboard, to get a step closer to a potential fourth-straight Championship victory. The event is proudly supported by the NSW Government's lead agency for tourism and major events, Destination NSW.

Final release tickets to the Sydney event are selling fast. To purchase, visit SailGP.com/Sydney.

Related Articles

SailGP: Brits win French event
Day 2 of the Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez has been cancelled due to forecast thunderstorms Day 2 of the Rockwool France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez has been cancelled due to forecast thunderstorms expected to impact the area during scheduled racing. Posted on 13 Sep
ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix Day 1
Fletcher flies high on turbulent first day Day one of the ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix went the way of Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team as they topped the event leaderboard after the first four fleet races of the weekend in Saint-Tropez. Posted on 12 Sep
SailGP: Brits top leaderboard after Day 1
A squirrely 15-18kts breeze opened up plenty of opportunity for aggressive tactics. Emirates GBR topped the SailGP France leaderboard after the first day of racing in Saint Tropez. The squirrely 15-18kt breeze was distorted by the surrounding high terrain, channeling the pressure and direction, caused some dramatic switching of places. Posted on 12 Sep
Riviera racing: SailGP set for Saint-Tropez return
As league confirms 2026 expansion team plans The Rolex SailGP Championship returns tomorrow - and France's famous "Mistral [wind] has turned up just in time," according to league CEO Sir Russell Coutts. Twelve national teams will hit the startline for the sold-out event. Posted on 11 Sep
SailGP: Coutts updates on new teams
It has been a tumultuous year so far for SailGP. Russell Coutts outlines the plans for Season 6. Russell Coutts: Announcement on Team 13 for the SailGP League is pending. The second team will not start in Season 6, but will start in Season 7. A training facility will be set up for use of existing teams. Posted on 11 Sep
SailGP launches new rudders
And unveils further innovations ahead of Saint-Tropez event SailGP has today announced significant steps forward in technological innovation and fleet capability, with the launch of new rudders and plans for automated foil-protection software specifically for high speed, highly-loaded maneuvers. Posted on 10 Sep
SailGP Racing on the Edge Season 5 Episode 9
Germany find their spark in latest episode of Racing on the Edge After a disastrous start to their 2025 Season - seemingly-defined by an unprecedented 12-point penalty in Sydney - the Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank have been fighting to prove themselves. Posted on 8 Sep
SailGP: Brazil and USA head for France
The damage incurred in SailGP Germany has been fully repaired for next weekend's event A big effort by the team at SailGP Technologies' facility in Southampton has seen the damage incurred in SailGP Germany fully repaired for next weekend's event in Saint-Tropez, France. Posted on 7 Sep
SailGP: Auckland event set to top 30,000 fans
Auckland likely to set new record of 30,000 fans but stalemate set to hit all Major Events. An extension to the grandstand at SailGP Auckland will help set new records. But a policy stalement between Auckland Council and the NZ Govt hangs over the 2027 hosting negotiations, and future international sporting events that could be hosted in NZ. Posted on 28 Aug
SailGP: The sky is the limit for Auckland
Auckland to set world record venue spectator audience at Rolex SailGP with 30% stand expansion SailGP Auckland will take place on Valentine's Weekend 2026 with a 30 percent increase in grandstand size to accommodate more than 10,000 fans daily in the purpose-built Race Stadium at Wynyard Point, alongside hospitality and other ticketed products. Posted on 24 Aug
Rooster 2025Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignC-Tech 2021 (Spars-QFX Racer) 728x90 BOTTOM