World and Olympic champions star in new podcast for the Allianz Sailing World Championships

Over the four episodes of the English-language podcast, powered by Allianz, moderator and sports journalist Chris Wobben meets different guests, as the sailing world prepares to ‘Get Ready for the Best’ at the Allianz Sailing World Championships in The Hague from 10-20 August.

In the first episode, available from 5 July, Wobben talks to Olympic Champion Kiran Badloe and two-time Paralympic medallist Alexandra Rickham. The latter is not only multiple Para World Sailing champion and Paralympic medallist, but also Head of Sustainability at World Sailing.

Badloe and Rickham discuss the global sailing community’s commitment to sustainability, among other topics.

Olympic champion Badloe, currently competing in the iQFOiL Olympic class is also a concerned and committed windsurfer when it comes to caring for nature and the ocean in particular.

Badloe said, “Before the Rio Games, I had only seen pictures of a blue sea, but when I was there for the first time, I saw with my own eyes how polluted the water was in Rio. That opened my eyes.”

“At sea, we as humans get a lot smaller. That’s where the realisation dawned for me how important our connection with nature is,” says Rickham in the podcast.

As well as conversations with interesting guests from the sailing world, former Finn sailor, 2014 ILCA7 World Champion and The Ocean Race competitor Nicholas Heiner provides a column from each podcast episode, in which he shines his light on sailing and shares amusing anecdotes.

The four episodes of ‘Get Ready for the Best’ can be heard on Audiohuis’ Spotify channel and on the social channels of the Allianz Sailing World Championships, World Sailing and the Royal Dutch Watersport Association.

The next episodes feature Sporting Director of the F1 Dutch Grand Prix Jan Lammers, World Champion Odile van Aanholt, CEO of the Royal Dutch Yachting Watersport Association Arno van Gerven, The Hague Alderman Hilbert Bredemeijer, TeamGBR 49er athlete James Peters and multiple World and Olympic champion Marit Bouwmeester.

New episodes will be published weekly – airing on 12, 19 and 26 July.