Anna Weis, SailGP’s First Female Grinder, On The Future Of Sailing

So far this season, SailGP has brought her to Dubai, Auckland, and Sydney before arriving in Los Angeles the previous weekend. Next, the 12 international teams that make up the Formula 1 of sailing will pack up their multimillion-dollar F50 catamarans and head to New York City, followed by Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Spain, before landing in the United Arab Emirates again.

But before Anna can reunite with her parents, she graciously spends 45 minutes just outside the lounge with a reporter. While some athletes understandably dread a postgame interview, Anna is happy to chat. She knows her words can have an impact—or maybe the smiley, soft-mannered sailor is just a really good sport. “It’s so cool to do stuff like this, to share more of my message and talk about some of my vulnerabilities,” she says.

Her message is simple: “I want to show girls that you can be strong and beautiful, and there is space for you in professional sports,” she says. “There’s space for you in sailing.”

Just the week before, Anna spent time on the water with 15 middle school-age girls, teaching them to sail with RISE, a national organization that uses the power of sports to address racial discrimination and champion social justice. In true middle-schooler fashion, the girls needed some coaxing to get on the water, but by the end of their session they were sold, says Alta De Leon, the head of partnerships and hospitality for the U.S. SailGP team—and everyone wanted a selfie with Anna. As the first woman in her position in SailGP’s history, the Olympian is breaking barriers and building an impressive résumé. But these moments are where Anna shines.

Some athletes—very fairly—just want to play. Anna wants to connect, especially with younger girls, and make a difference. She also wants to win.

As a grinder and jib trimmer, Anna’s job on an F50 puts her strength to the test.

She spends the majority of her time on board cranking handles that generate power and allow another sailor on the team to manipulate the wingsail. “Most of the boat is battery powered, but there’s one part of the boat that requires manpower—or womanpower, I should say,” Anna explains with a smile.

Anna and the U.S. SailGP team cruises past the Golden Gate Bridge during a practice session

Before Anna, F50s really did run on so-called manpower. She’s SailGP’s first female grinder, finally proof that women can do the arguably most physically demanding job on the boat too. But it’s not just upper-body strength and cardio endurance that are required. Anna also uses foot pedals to trim the jib (the small sail that plays a role in speed and various maneuvers) and is responsible for pushing the buttons that invert the wing (which helps with maneuverability) and occasionally taking over flight control duties (which play a crucial role in maintaining the boat’s speed). It’s a head-to-toe kind of position—literally.

“She has a very technical role, as well as [physical],” says U.S. SailGP CEO and co-owner Mike Buckley, the team’s strategist, responsible for directing the crew on the optimal race path. “She’s gotta keep her heart rate down so she can make good decisions, so she’s gotta be in really good shape. She doesn’t just turn handles with her eyes closed.” (As for just how strong she is, Buckley says: “She’s probably the best athlete on our boat.”)

Anna’s athleticism and value to the team also aren’t lost on U.S. SailGP Team partner Tommy Hilfiger, who keeps the sailors impeccably dressed, from their arrival looks to their kits. “I’m so impressed by Anna,” the designer said in an email to Women’s Health. “She brings real grit, determination, and a fresh perspective to everything she does. As the only woman on the U.S. SailGP Team, she’s not just competing at the highest level, she’s helping reshape the future of the sport. She’s opening doors by showing the next generation what’s possible and raising the standard for what’s to come.”

Anna is racing the kind of boats that stop locals in their tracks—and the kind of boats that can humble even the most experienced sailors.

Fifteen meters across (about 50 feet) and standing at anywhere from 18 to 28 meters (59 to 92 feet), the carbon-fiber wing sail on these boats looks more like an airplane wing. Another thing they have in common with airplanes? They fly. Capable of reaching speeds of 53 knots (which is about 61 miles per hour), these six-passenger boats literally lift above the water thanks to their hydrofoil construction.

SailGP is only in its fifth season, and the U.S. team is still trying to get its sea legs in the young league, compared to more dominant teams like Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and last year’s winner, Spain. With an up-and-down start, the team is laser-focused on making progress and, hopefully, winning over fans. Kicking off the season in Dubai, they placed third. Then, in Auckland, they placed last. They weren’t able to compete in Sydney due to boat damage, and they finished ninth in Los Angeles. In San Francisco, they were the last of the boats that competed, despite finishing second and third in practice races the day before.

As Anna sees it, there are so many variables that can derail a race, but that doesn’t make the result any less frustrating. It’s the one time in our conversation when she’s a little more bottled up, but she says her team’s plan is to focus on the process and keep improving. “It’s part of sport, it’s part of the journey, and we’re going to keep pushing,” she says.

For the U.S. SailGP team, it’s about more than just winning for the sake of winning. While other teams pull talent from across the globe, the U.S. team, made up entirely of Americans, wants to make a name for—and invest in—sailing here at home. “We’re trying to change the culture and the performance of American sailing,” Buckley says. “We’re trying to grow our sport. SailGP is totally different from anything anyone’s ever seen in our sport, and we don’t expect people to instantly be our fans until we prove to ourselves and to them that we’re worthy.”

Whether or not they can figure out the winning formula soon—which they will, if you ask Anna—they have the right product. During Friday’s practice races, onlookers lined San Francisco’s Marina Green, snapping shots with their cameras and excitedly asking one another, “Is there some kind of race this weekend?” People might not be able to identify a SailGP fleet quite yet, but the boats drum up excitement regardless, and without anyone knowing that there are both men and women on board.

One woman walking by tugged at her husband’s arm, stopping him to say, “Wow, look how fast those things are!” You could hear the high-pitched whistling noise coming from the hydrofoils, which, if you didn’t know better, could be mistaken for the sound of cheering from far away.

Anna is the first to admit her job is super cool, but she’s equally excited to talk about all the other parts of her life too.

She’s quick to share her love for fellow athletes, like rugby star Ilona Maher (whom she’d like to be best friends with) and her mentor Lindsey Vonn (an “icon” who taught her not to care what anybody thinks). She’s excited about learning to knit from her grandma and that we both have the same Tommy Hilfiger sweaters (“This one is my favorite!” she says about the bomber from their recent collab with Sofia Richie Grainge).

She’s known for her enthusiasm for just about everything. “We go to a restaurant and she’s like, ‘This is the best food I’ve ever had!’” says Buckley. “It’s really cool to see, and it’s contagious.” She’s personable and friendly and says almost everything with a genuine excitement, so much so that you could almost forget that you’re talking to a world-class athlete who can almost certainly lift more than you.

Anna in her go-to Tommy Hilfiger sweater.

Beyond the Haribo gummy bears she eats on the water for energy, her background as a classically trained piano player, and her past life in musical theater (her dream role would be Elphaba in Wicked), there’s one topic that really lights Anna up: keeping girls involved in sports.

By age 14, girls drop out of athletics at up to twice the rate that boys do, according to research from the Women’s Sports Foundation. This could be because they don’t have the same access and resources as their male counterparts, lack role models and representation, or face social stigma, all things that Anna knows a thing or two about.

Anna “immediately” fell in love with weightlifting when she discovered CrossFit at age 15, a time when she started to take sailing seriously. She also noticed that her body looked different from those of many of her peers. “There were times when it came across my mind, If I were leaner or skinnier, I’d be a better athlete, or I would just be more desirable as a person,” she says.

Anna’s passion for the water and the gym overpowered those thoughts, and she stuck with it. Today, the physical elements of her job on the boat are the primary reasons why she describes it as action-packed, fun, and empowering. “I’ve always felt empowered when I feel strong,” she says. “I always felt my most confident self when I was in the gym and physically stronger, so it’s really cool that I can carry that confidence into a role in the sport that I love so much.”

While her relationship with her body image can still be a challenge from time to time, she’s psyched about what her body can do and all the ways she can get stronger. She’s always chasing a new goal in the gym, even if it’s not required for her sport. Case in point: her desire to become a better sprinter—just because.

“Your body does not define who you are,” she says. “I’d say it’s the least interesting thing about you.” But, if you do happen to have an athletic body type like Anna’s, let her be a reminder that you’re not alone, she says.

She admires Maher for being candid about these topics and keeping the conversation going. “Growing up, struggling with my relationship with my body image and having thoughts that prevent me from continuing with sport, I don’t want that to happen to anyone else,” she says. It’s why she’s so willing to do an interview right after a grueling race or volunteer to teach younger girls to sail in her free time. Plus, she just loves seeing them happy, she says.

Basically, she’s the ultimate girls’ girl. A middle child in real life, she’s got certifiable big-sister energy at this point in her career. Example: She immediately pulls together a laundry list of things she’d tell her 17-year-old self. You’re beautiful and unique the way you are; you’re strong and powerful, which is going to get you so far; don’t let other people’s opinions prevent you from going after what you want. After rapidly and instinctively delivering this hypothetical message, she pauses and says, “Oh god, little Anna—I’d probably give her a hug too.”

These days, Anna still contends with outside opinions—particularly about whether she belongs in her position.

“Being the first woman to do it, I know there’s a lot of people who don’t think that I should be in this role—which motivates me more, so joke’s on them,” she says through giggles.

She’s used to this kind of thing. “I’ve always had to work twice as hard just to get to where I am,” she says. “But I also think that it’s made me the athlete I am today.”

If you ask her teammates, they’re 100 percent sure of Anna’s abilities and are some of her biggest advocates. “There’s a lot of people that don’t think Anna’s strong enough or whatever, but Anna thinks she’s strong enough, and that’s all that f—ing matters,” says Buckley, as “Believe” by Cher plays through the speakers at the U.S. team’s tech site before Sunday’s races.

In fact, when Buckley bought the team in 2023, Anna was his first call. Between her physical strength and her upbeat attitude, she is exactly the kind of person you want on your team. “I’ve been pretty vocal about this,” Buckley says. “I think Anna has the tools to be the face of our sport.”

Eleven races in with SailGP, Anna is coming into her own. “I’ve seen Anna grow massively as a person this last year,” Buckley says. “It’s a daunting task to be the first to do something, but I’ve noticed this season she walks around our base and around all the other teams with her shoulders back, with some swagger, and I think that’s because she’s done the work.” It’s true. Anna trains twice a day, oftentimes by herself, and without someone telling her to do it.

The confidence shows. Lately, Anna has started calling herself “the queen”—partly friendly banter among close-knit teammates who like to tease one another, but you don’t start using the label without some level of self-assuredness. Her teammates are cautious about adopting the title, in the way that big brothers wouldn’t want to cede such a thing to their younger sister.

There’s a case for it, though. “She embraces [everything] on and off the water,” says Buckley. “She’s the one that little girls—and not even just little girls—boys want to take photos with.” It sounds like she is the queen, then, I point out. “She is the queen,” Buckley agrees.

In terms of what’s next for Anna, there is no ceiling.

Wherever she decides to go, she’s going to take other aspiring female athletes with her, kind of like how a rising tide lifts all boats. Anna’s willing to play the long game, investing in the youngest athletes now so that by the time they grow up, they’ll be well prepared to enter the league. “Change takes time, especially when it’s so deep-rooted into the history of the sport and the history of the culture,” she says. The first step is showing girls that this is even possible.

Anna gets down to business.

Anna isn’t alone on her mission. SailGP’s goal is to be a fully co-ed, integrated league. As the U.S. team’s CEO, Buckley wholeheartedly supports this goal. “We believe that diversity is a competitive advantage in every aspect of our business on and off the water,” he says. “I look forward to the day where you won’t find me distinguishing between male athletes and female athletes. We have athletes, period. Nobody calls me a male athlete. Nobody calls me a male CEO.”

Whether it’s with partners like Tommy Hilfiger or through SailGP’s own policies, female sailors are getting more support than ever. Since its second season, in 2021, SailGP has instituted a rule that one woman must be on every boat, and it created the Women’s Pathway Program to accelerate the number of women entering the league. Typically, women are on board as strategists, but that’s slowly changing. Anna is the first woman in the most physically demanding grinder role on the boat, and Martine Grael of Mubadala Brazil became the first female driver this year.

Today, there are 18 women competing in SailGP…and 73 men. “There’s so much progress to be made in terms of women in the sport of sailing, and women in sports in general,” Anna says.

For now, she’s going to keep focusing on that progress, both on the water and off, and winning over fans along the way. And she’s enjoying every moment of what sailing has brought her—traveling the globe, competing against the best in the world, and connecting with the sailors of the future. “I, like, love my life,” she says.

Olivia Luppino is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. She spends most of her time interviewing expert sources about the latest fitness trends, nutrition tips, and practical advice for living a healthier life. Olivia previously wrote for New York Magazine’s The Cut, PS (formerly POPSUGAR), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests. She’s currently training for her first half marathon, inspired by her many colleagues at WH who have run one.