Jemima Lines will become the first British woman to compete in the America’s Cup in 90 years when she joins the GB1 squad for the 38th edition of the event, set to take place in Naples next year. At 29, Lines brings a unique combination of athletic skill and technical expertise to the British challenge, led by team principal Ben Ainslie.

The 2027 America’s Cup will mark the first time the competition requires each five-person crew to include at least one female sailor. Lines, a world-class kitefoiler and Olympic back-up to gold medalist Ellie Aldridge at the Paris Games, was chosen for her multifaceted abilities despite not having the highest public profile among potential candidates. Alongside her sailing credentials, she holds a degree in mechanical engineering, enabling her to contribute to the team’s design and technical efforts.

Lines’ background extends well beyond competitive sailing. She has worked as a survival skills instructor for Bear Grylls, undertaken a solo bicycle expedition around Iceland at age 18, and has experience as a guide at Everest basecamp. Her adventures also include summiting peaks in Alaska, trekking across Mongolia, and setting altitude kite surfing records on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Lake Karakul near the Afghanistan border. She describes herself as drawn to challenges, seeing the America’s Cup as the ultimate test.

Being the only woman on a five-person crew does not intimidate Lines. She has consistently found herself in male-dominated environments, from her engineering studies at Bristol University—where she was one of only five women in a lecture hall of 300—to various workplaces in engineering roles. She welcomes the opportunity for greater female representation, stating that she enjoys working alongside her male teammates and hopes to contribute equally to their collective efforts.

Lines comes from a family deeply connected to outdoor pursuits. She is the youngest of four sisters who were raised with a strong emphasis on adventure and resilience. Her father, Ralph Crathorne, a former Special Forces member and leadership expert, sadly died earlier this year in an ice climbing accident on Ben Nevis. She credits him for inspiring much of her adventurous spirit and willingness to pursue ambitious goals.

Her historic selection echoes that of Phyllis Sopwith, the last British woman to compete in the America’s Cup during the 1937 challenge in Newport, Rhode Island. Lines marked additional personal milestones this summer, including getting married, as she prepares for the upcoming Louis Vuitton Cup stage from May 26 to July 4, 2027, and the America’s Cup final starting July 10.

Lines has emphasized that being part of the British campaign is a significant achievement, but her ambitions extend further. “Winning the America’s Cup would definitely be the cherry on the top,” she said, underscoring the team’s shared drive for success after more than a century of British disappointment in the competition.