Thomas Saunders

EVENT:  Sailing: Men's Dinghy

A prodigiously talented youth sailor, Saunders successfully made the step up into the senior ranks and has been among the front of the world's ILCA 7 fleets since winning the 2021 world championships - only the second Kiwi to do so in the history of arguably the most competitive class in the sport.

He followed it up with a fourth place at the 2022 world champs in Mexico, wedged between a string of other strong domestic and international results and in November 2022, Saunders was named Orbit World Travel Sailor of the Year at the annual Aon Yachting Excellence Awards.

A challenging 2023 was followed by early success in 2024, with Saunders finishing fifth at the world champs in Adelaide to secure his spot in Paris.