It was Nolwenn Leroy, President of the Jury, who announced on the stage of the Nautic the Sailor of the Year 2015. And this year, it is a duo that wins the trophy, and succeeds Loïck Peyron. Billy Besson and Marie Riou are therefore named Sailors of the Year, which is in recognition of their three-time world champion titles (2013, 2014 and 2015). Their series, the Nacra 17, is making its debut at the 2016 Olympic Games.
The Rio de Janeiro waterway was a great success for them during the last Test Events, winning gold in 2014 and a silver medal in 2015.
"It's great, we're really happy to win this Sailors of the Year award. This is the third year we have been appointed, we thought maybe it would be the right one. We are delighted. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who support us, first of all the French Sailing Federation, Jean-Pierre Champion and all his teams, the French Navy, and our partners such as the Banque Populaire" said Marie Riou.
Billy Besson, "We are very proud to win this award, and also to succeed Loïck Peyron who is a great sailor. We are really happy, now we are crossing our fingers to reach our next goal. We also thank Franck Citeau our coach who has been supporting us for 3 years now."
The sailors, nominated for the third consecutive year, were not present on the stage of the Paris Boat Show. They were on vacation from Brazil, where they continue their training for the Olympics.
As a reminder, the nominees for Sailor of the Year were:
- Antoine Albeau,
- Billy Besson & Marie Riou,
- Pierre Le Coq,
- François Gabart & Pascal Bidégorry,
- Vincent Riou & Sébastien Col,
- Damien Seguin.
Photo credits: Fabrice Aygaleng
