SWITZERLAND’S SAILING SUPERSTAR – NATHALIE BRUGGER
Three-time Olympian, Nathalie Brugger is one of the most successful Swiss Olympic sailors, and within the new Tudor Team Alinghi set-up has massively impressed in early training regularly beating the boys on the water. Known as a tough competitor, Nathalie is set to be one of the stand-out superstars of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples.
Nathalie’s Olympic career has been stellar. She first competed in 2008 in Beijing and placed 6th overall in the highly competitive Laser Radial class before qualifying for London 2012, again in the Laser Radial, finishing 14th, before qualifying for her third Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 in the Nacra 17, finishing 7th. Nathalie naturally transferred to coaching and trained fellow Swiss Maud Jayet in the ILCA 7 class for Tokyo in 2021. An ever-present in Swiss and international sailing across a wide number of fleets, Nathalie has been an in-demand sailor across fleets including the Decision 35, J70, Diam 24 and TF35.
In 2024, Nathalie was a natural choice for the Swiss entry in the Women’s America’s Cup and was appointed skipper, leading the team to a very notable race win and going into the final day positioned in the top three. However, one mistake and an agonisingly cruel tiebreak system cost the team a place in the Final Series. Nathalie however was a model of leadership saying afterwards: “Looking back, it's been incredible to build a team from scratch with women who were perhaps less experienced. A few months ago, some of us had never been on a foiling boat, never seen a jib, never sailed more than 10 knots of boat speed, and here we are. We have done amazing things, winning a race, leading from the top marks. So, I think we can be proud of our journey together."
Nathalie is back now with the new-look Tudor Team Alinghi and is high on the learning curve as she fully integrates with the team with a keen eye on a spot in the AC75 that will launch later this year. For now, it’s all about training for the first Prelim Regatta in Sardinia. We caught up with her to get some perspective on just how momentous this America’s Cup is for women in sailing.
At the last Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona, which was a sensational event, a lot of the sailors were saying, "We want the opportunity." You've now got the opportunity. What does it feel like?
NB: Well, it feels a massive step forward for women in sailing. When you think about it, there were no women on these boats in the last 50 years, and suddenly we have the opportunity to catch up. I think the guys don't realise how much we have to catch up as in the last few days they were completely open, talking about the project, and sometimes I was like, "Guys, I have never seen this and this and this." And I realise how much they went through, and now it's on me to go through the data set and the technical part and try to catch up. They're helping me. It's really cool. They really want me to be at the same level. And for me, it's a very massive opportunity, and I'm learning every day. It's a big learning curve, for sure.
The word on the street with the other teams is that the fifth sailor position on the AC75 is going to be a data processing skill that you've got to learn. How hard is that going to be?
NB: Well, I’m not sure, we haven't been through exactly the role of the P5 yet and I think it will depend a little bit on each team. But I quickly realised that I will have to go through numbers - a lot! And already, the AC40 experience with all the data analysis, it’s already a big and a first for me. Even coming from the Olympics, you look at this data and be like, "No way." It's just like another level and we only had a little taste of that level of data analysis in 2024.
What is everybody saying in Switzerland? There is clearly an incredible pathway now, and the next Cup is going to be on us very quickly. It's an amazing opportunity.
NB: Well, they all went back to Olympic campaigning, so I haven't seen them much. My other driver just had a baby a few weeks ago, so we all took different pathways, and I don't think they know much about me being back in the Alinghi team. But for sure, when we talked about it last campaign, they all got super excited to have a woman on board. And we're a really tight group. I think all the women sailors are really tight, and I'm pretty sure we are all going to help each other. I remember in the AC40 it was something new for everyone, and there were no secrets and we were really trying to give each other some tips just to make sure that we looked good on the water, that we look like pros. And yeah, we want to show this image that we can make it.
The next Cup in Naples, and indeed the 2029 Cup, women will be a key focal point and talking point. There's going to be a lot of media. Are you ready for the storm that's going to come?
NB: I think we got a little taste in 2024. It was already a first step, and we had a lot of media asking exactly the same questions. And I think right now, with women in all sports, it has started to become trendy. So, we need to get used to this, and it's good. I think it's good for women in sailing, and as a woman right now here, I'm almost one of the only woman in the team, and that’s a reality. So, if we want to make this change, we have to accept that we're going to have maybe more visibility, maybe a bit more load on the media side, but I think it's super-good for the future of women in sailing.
