Dylan Fletcher & Stuart Bithell

Dylan Fletcher was born in April 1988 and grew up a long way from the sea, joining Northampton Sailing Club at thirteen after starting out at eleven. He won the 29er under 19 world title in 2006 and moved into the 49er, sailing his first Olympics in Rio in 2016 with Alain Sign, where the pair finished sixth.

After Rio he teamed up with Stuart Bithell, a partnership that came together almost by accident while the two were racing Moths in Portland. Their first full season was close to perfect. They medalled at every regatta in 2017 and took both the world and European titles. Four years later they won 49er gold in Tokyo by inches in one of the tightest medal races the class has produced. Fletcher was made an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours and retired from Olympic sailing later that year.

He has stayed busy since. Moth world champion in Buenos Aires in 2022, helm for Sir Ben Ainslie's INEOS Britannia in the 2024 America's Cup, and now driver of the Emirates GBR F50, which he steered to the SailGP championship in 2025.

Stuart Bithell was born in Rochdale in August 1986 and learned to sail on inland water in Lancashire, which makes his medal cabinet all the more unlikely. His first Olympic campaign was in the 470 with Luke Patience, and the two took silver at London 2012 in front of a home crowd at Weymouth.

The 470 partnership ended in 2013 and Bithell switched to the 49er, first with John Pink. They lost the Rio selection battle to Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign and missed the Games entirely. Rather than walk away, Bithell joined forces with Fletcher after Rio, and the two of them went on to win world and European titles in 2017 and Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. He was made an MBE alongside Fletcher in 2022.

Bithell was one of the original SailGP athletes, flight controller for Great Britain in season one, before spells with Switzerland and two seasons wing trimming for Germany. He joined Emirates GBR as wing trimmer for the 2026 season, putting him back on the same boat as Fletcher for the first time since Tokyo.