Triple Olympian Alison Young announces retirement from sailing
Wolverhampton-born Ali Young has called time on her competitive sailing career, which has seen her compete at three Olympics.
Regarded as Britain’s greatest ever laser radial class sailor, Young earned her first call-up to the Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.
The Bewdley-based sailor became the first Briton to win a world championship in the class in 2016 but her attempt to win gold at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics that year was badly hampered by a broken ankle suffered eight weeks before the games.
She finished eighth and followed that up with a 10th-place finish in Tokyo this year.
Young, 34, said: “My latest news from the Olympic world is that I’ve retired, and now I’m figuring out what life is. I actually decided to retire while I was in Tokyo.
“I was watching Emma Wilson win her bronze medal in the RS:X and I realised that it wasn’t something I wanted or needed anymore. It was quite an easy decision in the end.
“When I reflect back on my time with the British Sailing Team I just feel really fortunate to have had the chance to work with the teams of people that I have, people who are world class at what they do and who are more importantly just fantastic individuals.
“For that I’m very grateful. I’m now stepping out into the rest of the world and seeing what that’s like.
“My fondest memories from the Games centre around the spirit and energy the sailing team has, especially out in Tokyo.
“I finished 10th in Tokyo and I just felt really content with my performance. It was a really nice place to end on.
“What’s next? Well, with my sailing it’s always been about trying to get the best out of myself and so I’m now trying to do that in a different domain.
“I’m exploring coaching to see if I can help others get the best out of themselves.”
