#ISAF - In just a few hours the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and Rolex will announce the 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year in Dublin.

The award ceremony will take place during a dinner hosted at the historic Mansion House in the heart of the capital, and will be attended by many of the world’s top sailors and delegates to the ISAF Annual Conference taking place in Dun Laoghaire.

This year's winners as always are selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world, who have been invited to vote for one male and one female nominee they believe most deserves the award for their efforts during the nomination period.

This year there are five male and four female nominees who have been shortlisted for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards based on their achievements during the qualifying period of 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2012.

HM King Constantine, ISAF President of Honour, will announce the winners, each of whom will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece.

The 2012 nominees are:

Male

• Ben Ainslie (GBR) - Finn - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist & 2012 World Champion
• Mathew Belcher & Malcolm Page (AUS) - Men's 470 - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists, 2011 and 2012 World Champions & 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup Champions
• Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) - 49er - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists & 2011 and 2012 World Champions
• Loïck Peyron (FRA) - Outright Around the World Record
• Tom Slingsby (AUS) - Laser - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist & 2011 and 2012 World Champion

 

Female

• Támara Echegoyen, Ángela Pumariega and Sofía Toro (ESP) - Women's Match Racing - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists
• Helena Lucas (GBR) - 2.4mR - London 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist & 2011-12 ISAF Sailing World Cup Champion
• Saskia Sills (GBR) - RS:X - ISAF Youth Sailing World Champion & European Youth Champion
• Lijia Xu (CHN) - Laser Radial - London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist

 

Find out more HERE about the nominated sailors and their achievements.