Hannah Stodel

Hannah Stodel (born 26 August 1985) is a British Paralympic sailor. Stodel has represented Great Britain at three Summer Paralympics and with her colleagues John Robertson and Stephen Thomas has won multiple medals in the Mixed Sonar class at the Disabled Sailing World Championships, including gold in 2005 and 2006.

Hannah Stodel
Personal information
Nationality Great Britain
Born (1985-08-26) 26 August 1985
West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, England
Sailing career
Class(es)Sonar
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  Great Britain
Disabled World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Sønderborg Mixed Sonar
Gold medal – first place 2006 Perth Mixed Sonar
Gold medal – first place 2015 Melbourne Mixed Sonar
Silver medal – second place 2010 Medemblik Mixed Sonar
Silver medal – second place 2011 Weymouth Mixed Sonar
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Athens Mixed Sonar
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Charlotte Harbour Mixed Sonar

Personal life

Stodel was born in 1985, growing up in the coastal village of West Mersea, in south-east England.[1] She was born without a lower right arm.[2] Stodel matriculated to Loughborough University where she studied Sport & Exercise Science.[3]

Sailing career

Stodel was introduced to sailing at the age of three, her first boat being a Mirror.[1] Stodel has stated that due to her disability she was bullied as a child, and she used sailing as an escape from the pain.[2] In 1995 she joined the Royal Yachting Association Mirror National Junior Squad, a predominantly able bodied team, as she felt disability events were a weaker option.[1][2]

Her sailing career path changed after receiving a phone call from Andy Cassell, a British Paralympic sailor. He invited Stodel to a sailing weekend where he argued that disability competitions were not a lesser form of sailing and that by switching from mainstream competitions more opportunities would become available to her.[2] Stodel was won over by Cassell and in 2003 she switched class to sonar competing in disability events.[2][3] She teamed up with fellow British sailors John Robertson and Stephen Thomas and in 2003 they secured the bronze medal at the IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championship in Athens.[3] The following year the trio qualified for their first Summer Paralympics, finishing sixth in the Sonar class.[1]

Stodel, Robertson and Thomas would remain as a team for over 12 years, with major successes coming in the 2005 World Championships in Sønderborg and the 2006 World Championships in Perth where they took gold in their class.[3] They represented Britain in their second Paralympics, in the 2008 Games in Beijing. They again finished sixth.[3] Two silver medals in the 2010 and 2011 IFDS World Championships were followed by their third successive Paralympics, this time on home surf when the games came to London. The London Paralympics ended in disappointment for Stodel and her team mates after they were deducted four points after a team bosun cleaned the port side of their keel after being authorized to inspect the craft for damage.[4] The deduction saw the British team drop to fifth and the bronze medal going to Norway, just three points ahead of them.[5]

In the run up to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, Stodel was part of a third World Championship winning Sonar team, beating the Australian team by a single point.[6]

References
  1. "Hannah Stodel". paralympics.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. "Hannah Stodel: Some People are Always Going to Judge". ditchthelabel.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  3. "Team Profile: Hannah Stodel" (PDF). rya.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. Pavitt, Michael (1 August 2014). "London 2012 agony will not 'destroy' Hannah Stodel team". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. "Paralympics: GB Sonar crew miss out on bronze". BBC Sport. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  6. "Para World Sailing: GB trio claim Sonar gold". BBC Sport. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
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