Anna Weis is set to headline SailGP’s U.S. weekend on Governors Island in New York, as she becomes SailGP’s first full-time grinder—an intensely physical role that can swing races on identical hydrofoiling F50 catamarans. With SailGP CEO Russell Coutts calling
NEW YORK — Anna Weis doesn’t talk like she’s breaking new ground. Not at first.
Then she explains what she’s doing: becoming the first woman to serve as a full-time grinder in SailGP history. The role is built for brute precision—one of the most physically demanding jobs on a six-person crew—where split-second decisions can be the difference between a podium and the last place finish.
SailGP itself is engineered to make every move matter. Thirteen national teams—Australia. Brazil. Canada. Denmark. France. Great Britain. Germany. Italy. New Zealand. Spain. Sweden. Switzerland. and the United States—race in identical hydrofoiling F50 catamarans. The boats can exceed 60 mph. and with identical machines and shared data. the crew work largely decides race outcomes each weekend. Weis described SailGP as “F1 on water,” calling out its speed and unpredictability.
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts. who founded the league in 2018 with billionaire businessman Larry Ellison. agrees with the comparison and pointed to momentum. especially on television. Coutts said CBS will broadcast 12 of the 14 races this season. He also brought his own legend into the conversation: the New Zealand native has won the America’s Cup five times. including three as a skipper and helmsman. and is an Olympic gold medalist in the Finn class. winning at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Coutts used a vivid analogy for the sport’s pace: “Just imagine you are driving a car at 60 miles per hour, and you ask the passenger to hop out of the window, climb on the roof, and enter the driver’s side,” he said.
When asked about the league’s upcoming 14th team, Coutts refused to name it, even after light-hearted prodding.
Weis’s path to grinder starts in Fort Lauderdale. Florida. at age 7. where she grew up watching her brother take up sailing at the local yacht club. It began as a fun activity. Her direction shifted in high school. when a coach introduced high-performance elements and dedicated strength training—work that revealed her potential and pointed toward a future in sailing.
For college. Weis chose Boston University and built her athletic skills not only as a sailor but also as a rower. The Olympics followed, partnering with helmsman Riley Gibbs in a Nacra 17 foiling catamaran. They won gold in the mixed sailing events at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. After that, they earned a spot on the 2020 Olympic team in Tokyo, where they finished ninth.
Even with that talent, she said finding a lasting foothold in professional sailing took time. In her view, the long lead-up is a reality for many athletes who start with Olympic dreams.
“I always say this, like when I was little, I didn’t see professional sailing as an option,” Weis said. “So, like I said in high school, it was more the Olympic aspirations that I had. And that’s still technically amateur in the Olympic circuit. You’re fundraising all of your own money to go and compete for the stream. and you’re not making any money off of it.”.
In SailGP. grinders on other teams can outweigh Weis by 30 to 60 pounds. so she has built training methods designed to close that gap. Diet is central. Even though she is not restricted in what she eats. Weis works with a strength coach and a dietitian as she prepares year-round for a sport that demands constant preparation.
She also turned to CrossFit and weightlifting to focus on power movements and agility.
“I think for me, I’ve gone kind of this all-or-nothing mindset where you just burn yourself out,” she said. “You have to learn how to have a more balanced mindset. Just try to live my life with balance. I think that makes me the happiest and healthiest athlete that I can be. And I know that, mentally, if I’m there, I can show up and excel at my sport.”.
That work is landing in a moment where the U.S. SailGP Team is pushing toward the leaderboard. The crew includes driver Taylor Canfield, wing trimmer Michael Menninger, strategist Andrew Campbell, flight controller Hans Henken, and grinders Peter Kinney and Mac Agnese.
Their improvement marks a sharp turn from the 2025 season. That year, the U.S. team finished last in the 12-team field.
This weekend, SailGP arrives at Governors Island on the Hudson River in New York City. The U.S. team. which won the Sydney Sail Grand Prix in February. is currently in fourth place in the season standings with 31 points—behind Bonds Flying Roos (Australia) with 45 points. defending champion Emirates Great Britain with 35 points. and Los Gallos (Spain) with 34 points.
Weis says she doesn’t think about her role as a banner moment all the time. But she understands what it can mean for other women in sports—whether they end up in sailing or not.
“I’ve always been passionate about advocating for more young girls in sport. I know sport has quite literally changed my life,” she said.
She links her own door-opening to something bigger in athletics: visibility.
“I think it’s a very, very important part of our sport and a step forward within our sport because sailing has always been a male-dominated sport, and a lot of what it comes down to is the opportunity. I’m a firm believer that if you can see it, you can be it.”
Anna Weis SailGP Governors Island U.S. SailGP Team Russell Coutts hydrofoiling F50 grinders Taylor Canfield Michael Menninger Andrew Campbell Hans Henken Peter Kinney Mac Agnese