RHU sailor Anna Burnet has started a big 2023 with a bang after partnering John Gimson to gold in the first major regatta of the year.

Burnet and Gimson went into the final Nacra 17 race at the Trofeo Princess Sofia regatta in Palma in second with an eight-point gap to leaders Vittorio Bissaro and Maelle Frascari of Italy.

But a stellar second in the medal race saw the pair jump into the top spot overall to claim their first regatta win since being crowned world champions in 2021.

“This is such a big year in the run-up to the Olympics so it’s incredible to start it with a win,” said Burnet afterwards.

“We had a bit on in the medal race to overhaul the Italians but we had a plan and stuck to it. It’s a real boost going into the rest of the season.”

The Princess Sofia Trophy regatta is the season opener for the Olympic classes, and this year more than 1,300 athletes took part including 73 from the British Sailing Team and British Sailing Squad.

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With just over a year until Paris 2024 the British team shot out of the blocks, with Sam Sills, Emma Wilson, Micky Beckett, Connor Bainbridge and Ellie Aldridge all joining Beckett on the podium.

The British sailors brought home four gold medals and two silvers from the event, with the six medals across the ten Olympic classes seeing Britain top the overall medal table for the event.

British Sailing Team performance director Mark Robinson said: “Our team had some outstanding performances and, as always, some areas to work on in what will be a very important year with country qualification on the line and an Olympic test event coming up.

“The outstanding performance for me was Micky winning back-to-back Trofeo Princess Sofia gold medals in different conditions each time and with a day to spare, in arguably one of the toughest and closest fought classes.

“To come home as top nation by a significant margin is down to all of the hard work our sailors, coaches and support staff have put in over the past winter.”

The British team will be back in action in two weeks at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, France.