Anna Tunnicliffe
Class: Laser Radial
Position: Skipper
Birthdate: Oct. 17, 1982
Birthplace: Doncaster, England
Hometown: Plantation, Fla.
High School: Perrysburg High School
College: Old Dominion University (Graduated 2005)
US Sailing Team Alphagraphics: 2004 (Europe Dinghy); 2005-08 (Laser Radial)
Member of: North Cape Yacht Club
Occupation: Full-Time Sailor
Sailing Since Age: 8
Personal:
Every Olympic athlete is determined, but Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe has strengthened her will to win like a well-toned muscle. As a senior at Old Dominion University, she came off the water after a first day of racing at the singlehanded nationals disappointed with her finishes. She informed her coach she was going to win every race the next day - and she did.
"I was very focused that morning, and the breeze was up - which helped my case," says Tunnicliffe. "Once I won the first three, I felt very comfortable and had good starts, good speed, and got seven firsts to open a nice lead."
After graduating college in 2005, the Olympic Games received her full-time focus and medal-level performances at regattas all over the world followed. Within a year, she had risen to the top of the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) World Sailing Rankings in the Laser Radial class - by March ‘06, she was ranked third in the world and has since stayed in a top-three standing, keeping the No. 1 slot in 2007 for seven consecutive months.
But while Tunicliffe was honing her talent with an eye on China, so too was another American sailor of equal determination and will. Both Tunnicliffe and Paige Railey proved to be powerhouse talents on a global scale, and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials became a showdown between these two competitors. Tunnicliffe won the opening race of the Trials and kept a leading points edge throughout the regatta, with Railey finishing second.
Born in England, Tunnicliffe was first introduced to sailing on her parents' yacht and sailed Optimist prams in England. But sailboat racing really ignited her interest at age 12, when she moved to the United States and started winning more races.
As Tunnicliffe prepares for the Olympic Regatta, she knows she will face a fleet of elite athletes - each having a unique combination of raw talent, focus, and a desire to win. But if Tunnicliffe has an edge, she feels it is the emphasis she places on her fitness - and the physicality of singlehanding a Laser Radial is what drew her to this boat in the first place.
Olympic gold could be in her future, but Tunnicliffe has already proven to be a champion on the racecourse, and in her attitude too. When she competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she did not talk about Paige Railey as the one person who could stand between Tunnicliffe and her Olympic dreams. In the end, she credited Railey with making her a better sailor.
"Knowing that the other is sailing hard at the same time somewhere else, it makes you push yourself that little bit harder," says Tunnicliffe of the ongoing contest between her and Railey. "That rivalry that formed over the years has definitely pushed me to where I am today."
SIGNIFICANT SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS
- 2008 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Single-handed Dinghy Europe
- 2007 U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsWoman of the Year/Sailing
- Ranked No. 1 in the world in ISAF Laser Radial rankings (2007)
- Quantum Sails College Sailor of the Year (2005)
- Intercollegiate Sailing Assn (ICSA) All-American (2003, 2004, 2005)
- Achieved All-American status in both women's and co-ed fleets in 2005
SAILING RESUME
2008
- 2nd US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR/Miami, Fla.
- 9th Sail Melbourne International Regatta/Melbourne, Australia
2007
- 1st U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Sailing/Middletown, R.I.
- 1st The Good Luck Beijing - 2007 Qingdao International Regatta/Qingdao, China
- 1st Laser Radial Midwinters East/Clearwater Beach, Fla.
- 3rd Laser Radial Womens North American Championships/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
- 4th US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
- 4th U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship/Detroit, Mich.
- 5th ISAF Sailing World Championships/Cascais, Portugal
- 6th Rolex Osprey Cup/St. Petersburg, Fla. (match racing)
- 6th Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France
2006
- 1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
- 2nd Laser Radial Womens North American Championships/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
- 2nd Rolex Osprey Cup/St. Petersburg, Fla. (match racing)
- 4th HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Majorca, Spain
- 4th Laser Radial World Championships/Los Angeles, Calif.
- 4th The Good Luck Beijing - 2006 Qingdao International Regatta/Qingdao, China
- 5th Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France
- 7th ISAF World Sailing Games/Lake Neusiedl, Austria
2005
- 2nd Laser Radial Midwinters East/Clearwater Beach, Fla.
- 2nd Rolex Osprey Cup/St. Petersburg, Fla. (match racing)
- 3rd Laser Radial World Championships/Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil
- 8th Laser Radial European Championship/Split, Croatia
2004
- 4th U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Sailing/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Europe Dinghy)