Breaking waves, breaking barriers: Meet the first woman driver in SailGP history

ICYMI, we have a new obsession: it’s the Rolex SailGP Championship, the most exciting sport to ever hit international waters, featuring 12 co-ed teams driving ultra-fast F50 catamarans.

• New to the high-flying world of SailGP? We have your back. Check out our guide for everything you need to know.

• Now that you have some background, buckle up: it’s time to meet Martine Grael, a Rolex Testimonee and the driver for Mubadala Brazil, the first South American team to compete in SailGP. Breaking barriers with the wind at her sails.

Grael is no stranger to sailing side-by-side with both men and women, having been raised in a family of Olympic sailors in Niterói, Brazil. Her father, Torben Grael, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the Star class at the 1996 Atlanta and 2004 Athens Games. Her brother and uncle also competed in the highest echelons of the sport.

• But Grael began sailing alongside her mom, taking out a small boat as a kid and racing with her brother before joining junior competitions herself.

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Grael took home gold (in her home country!) in the women’s 49er FX race, and five years later defended her title at the 2020 Tokyo Games. So gilded.

Sailing has long been considered a male-dominated sport, but SailGP is different, requiring at least one woman on each six-person team. Grael is the only woman driver (aka, the athlete steering the F50 catamaran) across the 12 SailGP teams, and is tasked with making Mubadala Brazil’s game plan ahead of every race.

• SailGP drivers are the de facto team captains, and Grael’s quite the leader, guiding Mubadala Brazil to their first-ever win during the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix in June.

• Because SailGP preaches and practices parity, all 12 teams compete with the same equipment: lightning-fast F50 catamarans. The difference in performance is a result of how each team manages those tools, beginning with direction from the team driver.

• It’s safe to say that Mubadala Brazil is in very capable hands with Grael at the helm.

Feeling inspired by SailGP’s very own superwoman? Then tune into the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, being held July 19th and 20th in Portsmouth, England, by downloading the SailGP app.