By Alexander Smith
LONDON (Reuters) – Hannah Mills rarely shows her emotions when racing, masking them behind a steely “game face” and sunglasses.
Yet the British sailor was briefly overwhelmed when asked at the launch of a SailGP report on sustainability what could be done to tackle climate change, replying “it’s scary”.
The 35-year-old, who added gold in the 470 dinghy at the Tokyo Games to her previous silver and gold medals in London and Rio to become the most successful Olympic female sailor, has become a vocal campaigner for climate action.
“There are tipping points … if we go beyond them it’s going to cause one way change … and potentially an unliveable planet for everyone,” Mills told Reuters.
Mills, who now races with Ben Ainslie’s British team in sailing’s emerging equivalent of Formula One, said recent data, including record ocean temperatures, showed signs that the planet may be passing through some of those tipping points.
“It’s just scary, when you think about the future and about trying to create the best possible planet for people to live on and opportunity and all of the things you want for the next generation,” Mills said in an interview.
A huge change in Mills’ own life has been the birth of her daughter in October last year, something which she says has brought home the need for greater urgency.
“It puts everything into perspective. The last 10 months of Sienna’s life have flown by, so you definitely get that sense of urgency,” said Mills, who returned to competition in January in her quest to both helm a SailGP F50 catamaran and steer Britain to victory in the first Women’s America’s Cup next year.
Mills, who is also campaigning for gender equity, said sport offers “an incredible platform” to create change as SailGP was showing with its efforts to pursue inclusive and sustainable growth, while adopting the long-term mindset of a sports person.
“An Olympic campaign is four years long, but you work towards that your whole life and we need that same future thinking. What do I want to see in 10, 20 years time? We need to working towards it now rather than thinking ‘oh it’s in 10, 20 years time, that’s ages away’,” Mills added.
“It’s not, it’s going to come quickly and we haven’t got time to wait,” she said, as Sienna babbled happily behind her.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
