Athena Pathway

Athena Pathway is a British sailing team created in 2022 to compete for the 2024 Youth and Women's editions of the America's Cup.

Athena Pathway
Career
Yacht club	Royal Yacht Squadron (2024-)
Established	2022
Nation	United Kingdom
Team principal(s)	Sir Ben Ainslie Hannah Mills
Yachts
Sail no.	Boat name

The team was established in 2022 with the ambition of building a Long-Term, Equitable Pathway in High-Performance Sailing an winning the 2024 Youth and Women's America's Cup for Great Britain and to 'bring the cup home' to the United Kingdom and also . In 2024 the team challenged for the Youth and Women's America's Cup in Barcelona, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Formation and facilities

Athena Pathway, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron, was launched in August 2022 by Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie, two of Britain's most successful Olympic sailors, with the aim of fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing and bringing diversity to the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly.^[1]

Led by Mills, the Pathway was established for female and youth athletes. Hoping to fast-track development in professional sailing, level the playing field in high-performance foiling and bring equality and diversity into the sport at its highest level, both on and off the water. The core of the pathway is a commitment to sustainability, with an ethos of 'People, Planet and Purpose', encouraging athletes to use their voices in the fight against climate change.^[2]

2024

UNICREDIT Youth America's Cup

Crew

Sailor	Position
Nick Robins	Skipper & Helm
James Grummett	Helm
Alex Hughes	Trimmer
Matt Beck	Trimmer
Hattie Rogers	Trimmer
Citation:[3][4]

Results

Athena Pathway ranked 3rd over all in their qualification group but missed out on qualifying for the final by 2 points.

Qualification Series

Pos	Team
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Points
1	Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team	1	2	1	1	1	1	6	3	63
2	NYYC American Magic	2	1	INR†	INR	2	3	4	1	50
3	Athena Pathway	4	3	2	2	6	5	3	2	37
4	Orient Express Racing Team	INR	INR	INR	INR	3	4	1	DNF††	35
5	Emirates Team New Zealand	3	4	3	4	5	2	2	5	34
6	Alinghi Red Bull Racing	5	5	4	3	4	6	5	4	23
Citation:[5]

^† Instructed Not to Race (INR) - Teams that are instructed not to race by the racing committee are awarded 4 points.
^†† Did Not Finish (DNF) - Team withdrew part way through the race. The team is still awarded 1 pt.

Semi-Final Series

Pos	Team
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Points
1	Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team	2	2	1	2	31
2	NYYC American Magic	5	1	3	4	20
3	Athena Pathway	3	3	2	5	19
4	Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies	1	5	4	6	16
5	Andoo Team Australia	6	6	5	1	14
6	Sail Team Barcelona	4	4	6	3	12
Citation:[5]

PUIG Women's America's Cup

Crew

Sailor	Position
Hannah Mills	Skipper & Helm
Natasha Bryant	Helm
Ellie Aldridge	Helm
Hannah Diamond	Trimmer
Saskia Clark	Trimmer
Anna Burnet	Trimmer
Hattie Rogers	Trimmer
Citation:[1][2]

Results

Athena Pathway came 1st overall in both their qualification group and the semi-final series. However, they lost the 'winner takes all' match race to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

Qualification Series

Pos	Team
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Points
1	Athena Pathway	1	3	2	2	2	1	46
2	Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team	4	1	1	1	4	4	39
3	Emirates Team New Zealand	2	4	3	4	5	2	27
4	Alinghi Red Bull Racing	3	2	6	5	1	5	27
5	NYYC American Magic	5	6	5	6	3	3	16
6	Orient Express Racing Team	6	5	4	3	6	INR††	16
Citation:[6]

Semi-Final Series

Pos	Team
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Points
1	Athena Pathway	3	2	1	3	27
2	Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team	2	1	2	4	27
3	Sail Team Barcelona	1	6	4	1	24
4	Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies	6	3	5	2	15
5	Emirates Team New Zealand	4	5	3	5	12
6	Jajo Team DutchSail	5	4	6	6	7
Citation:[6]

The Final

Team	1
Athena Pathway
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team	●
Citation:[6]

Notes