Snellgrove left with mixed feelings in Marseille

By Tom Masters

Lymington sailing star Hannah Snellgrove has been through the mill while recovering from a back injury but still wanted more from the Olympic Test Event in Marseille.

Snellgrove, 32, finished ninth in the ILCA 6 class, qualifying for the medal race but too far back to have a chance at making the podium.

That saw her miss out on her personal goal of being in the mix for medals in the final race but after a serious back injury, she is realistic that it was always going to be a challenge.

She said: “I have mixed feelings about the week to be honest, I came into this regatta wanting to make the medal race with a shot of the podium, I made the medal race but unfortunately after a big score in the first race (on Friday), medals were out of the question.

“I didn’t hit my goal but I am happy to be included in the top 10, it is the first time I have actually made a medal race since I had a long time out after I hurt my back last year.

“So it would be wrong not to celebrate that as a win but equally the way I have been training and we had a coaches regatta here where I came second, I would be doing myself a disservice not to have an element of disappointment because I feel like my performance this week could have been a bit better.

“It is a very different vibe from what you get at normal regattas and I made a really conscious effort before the regatta started to decide to enjoy that because I think if you go into it with the approach that it is really different, then it is more likely to derail you I think.

“I think the biggest thing for me is doing what works for me and what I know works for me in terms of my individual competition routines, in a slightly different environment, there is more media

interest, there is more stuff to do off the water, going through mixed zones and things like that, so that is probably the biggest takeaway for me I think.”

That injury of two of her discs left her off the water for several months in spring last year and now Snellgrove is beginning to feel back to normal again.

Her timing to come back into full fitness could hardly have come at a better time with the Olympics a year away now, while the World Championships will take place in the Netherlands next month.

“I’m excited for the next year, there have been glimmers recently in the boat of feeling like the old me pre-back injury,” she added.

“It has taken quite a while to get back into it again just from a rehab point of view.

“There is definitely a lot of work to do but I feel like I can narrow that down to a couple of areas of performance, which is quite positive, so I am excited.”

Follow the British Sailing Team at the upcoming Sailing World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, on Instagram at @britishsailing