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The International Sailing Federation nominates the Team Telefónica sailors for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year title for their feats in Olympic and offshore sailing

ISAF (the International Sailing Federation)has officially announced the list of nominees in the running to become the world's top sailor. Of course, the list wouldn't be complete without Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernández whom, in just over a month's time will be setting off on a fresh challenge: taking on the Volvo Ocean Race on board “Telefónica” after recently taking silver in the Barcelona World Race and in the Olympic qualifying event recently held at Weymouth (UK).

There's no doubt that the versatility of the sailors and the endless list of triumphs both easily convinced the international body to nominate the Basque duo. They have been notching up victories for Spanish sailing for some ten years now, becoming the most successful crew in Spain.

It was the International 49er Class alongside the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation (RFEV) who put Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernández forward for the nomination for the third year. This is an honour for the sailors, as Xabi himself reiterated: “Both for myself and Iker it is an honour to be nominated for the title of sailor of the year. We have been working hard to combine offshore and Olympic sailing and that requires considerable effort both in sporting terms and in our family lives to be able to reach the top level in both disciplines. From the Beijing Olympics and to London 2012 we will have sailed three times around the world and it's not easy to maintain this pace, so we are really pleased to receive this recognition”.

Iker and Xabi's Cvs back-up this nomination: two Olympic medals, three world titles and three more European titles as well as great achievements in the offshore sailing world, including the “movistar” speed record in 2005, third place for “Telefónica Blue” and silver in the Barcelona World Race. It's a track record which displays not only an immense desire to exceed, but the absolute versatility of the sailors.

From Olympic sailing to offshore racing

Iker and Xabi began their careers together in 1999 on board a 49er. It was in that Olympic class that the pair gained their first great victory: the World title in Hawai (USA) in 2002. Two years later, Iker and Xabi were to repeat that success, this time in the waters of Athens, on the same racing course that they would take the sought-after Olympic gold just months later.

With the most important victories decorating their trophy cabinet, Iker and Xabi announced a brand new challenge when they signed “movistar” up for the 2005-2006 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. On that occasion Iker Martínez was Skipper for the inshore racing whilst Xabi Fernández carried out the role of Trimmer and Helmsman in an unforgettable round the world regatta. On the 5^th of April 2005 “movistar” broke the 24 hour speed record by sailing 530 miles in 24 hours in a training session in the South Pacific, between Wellington (NZ) and Cape Horn. The boat was also the first ever Spanish entry to win an offshore leg in the round the world regatta.

Three times around the world between two Olympic Games

Following the first offshore experience, the Basque sailors got back on board a 49er to become European champions for two consecutive years: 2007 in Marsala (Italy) and in 2008 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), before taking a brand new medal, this time a silver, at Beijing in 2008. Soon after the Olympic regatta was over, Iker and Xabi set course for Alicante to join the ranks of “Team Telefónica”, competing in the Volvo Ocean 2008-2009. On board “Telefónica Blue” where Iker took command of the VO 70, whilst Xabi retook his role as Trimmer and Helmsman, the Spanish pair would notch up significant victories for Spanish sailing. “Telefónica Blue” finished on the podium of the world's most extreme sailing challenge, taking third place following two leg victories and two more at the scoring waypoints, with four wins during inshore racing.

Following the round the world regatta, Iker and Xabi took on a new challenge: taking a  brand new world title, the third of their careers. Following extensive training and hard work, Iker and Xabi became world champions again in January 2010, this time in the Bahamas. In fact, the duo are still world champions of the Olympic class today.

Three-time world champions in the Olympic class, the Olympic pair boarded the “MAPFRE” Imoca Open 60 to take on the Barcelona World Race, the double-handed, non-stop race around the world. Not only did Iker and Xabi take overall silver, but they became the first Spaniards to cross the finishing line and the first team to finish the round the world regatta without any technical stops.

As soon as they finished the Barcelona World Race, Iker and Xabi immersed themselves in their latest project, the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012, with one clear objective: to take Spain to victory for the first time in the prestigious round the world regatta, which will kick off in Alicante with the inshore racing on October 29^th. Before this, the pair still managed to notch up another podium finish with silver in the Olympic qualifying regatta held in Weymouth (UK) in August.

With this track record, Iker and Xabi became the most successful Spanish crew in sailing history. Now they are just a step away from becoming the world's best sailors.

Maximum tension until November 8th

A period of consideration of the list of nominees opens now for the judges. Alongside Iker and Xabi sailors such as Ben Ainslie, Lorenzo Bressani, Rob Douglas and Nathan Outteridge are all shortlisted for the award. On the 8^th of November in San Juan (Puerto Rico) the latest ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year will be named.