{{Short description|British sailor (born 1979)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox sailor | name = Saskia Clark |honorific_suffix= [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] | image = Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark - Olympic Parade - Weymouth & Portland (cropped).jpg | image_size = | caption = Hannah Mills and Clark in 2012 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|08|23|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Colchester]], Essex, UK | classes = {{hlist|[[Optimist (dinghy)|Optimist]]|[[470 (dinghy)|470]]}} | club = | collegeteam = | coach = | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|[[Sailing (sport)|Sailing]]}} {{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}} {{MedalGold|[[2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Rio de Janeiro]] | [[Sailing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 470|Women's 470]]}} {{MedalSilver|[[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London]] | [[Sailing at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 470|Women's 470]]}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalGold|[[470 World Championships|2012 Barcelona]]| Women's 470}} {{MedalSilver|2005 San Francisco| Women's [[470 (dinghy)|470]]}} {{MedalSilver|[[2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships|2011 Perth]]| [[2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships – Women's 470|Women's 470]]}} {{MedalSilver|[[2015 470 World Championships|2015 Haifa]]| Women's 470}} {{MedalBronze|[[2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships|2007 Cascais]]| Women's 470}} {{MedalBronze|[[2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships|2014 Santander]]| [[2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships – Women's 470|Women's 470]]}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships}} {{MedalSilver|2014 [[Greece]]| Women's 470}} | show-medals = yes }}
'''Saskia Clark''' (born 23 August 1979 in [[Colchester]], Essex) is a British sailor and Olympic gold medalist. She competed in the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] and she was selected, along with [[Hannah Mills]], to sail in the [[470 (dinghy)|women's 470 event]] for [[Team GB]]. They went on to win silver at the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 Olympics]] and a gold medal at the [[2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Olympics]].
==Life== From [[Colchester]], Essex, Clark started sailing at Dabchicks Sailing Club in an [[Optimist (dinghy)|Optimist]] when she was eighth years old.<ref>{{cite news|title=Saskia Clark|url=http://www.skysports.com/olympics/story/0,23911,14935_7164445,00.html|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=Sky Sports|date=9 September 2011}}</ref>
She came sixth in the 2008 Summer Olympics sailing in the 470 class with [[Christina Bassadone]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Clark pleased with progress|url=http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/sport/2238438.clark_pleased_with_progress/|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=1 May 2008}}</ref> She was set to sail with [[Sarah Ayton]] in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but Ayton retired to focus on her family life. Clark was then paired with [[Hannah Mills]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Saskia Clark's new helm Hannah Mills give her renewed hope of a medal|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/8343696/Olympic-Sailing-Saskia-Clarks-new-helm-Hannah-Mills-give-her-renewed-hope-of-a-medal.html|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=23 February 2011}}</ref>
At the 2011 Skandia [[Sail for Gold]] Regatta and the [[2011 Weymouth & Portland International Regatta]], Clark won a silver medal in the women's 470 event together with Mills.<ref name="isaf">{{cite web|title=ISAF Sailor Profile|url=http://www.sailing.org/biog.php?id=GBRSC15|publisher=ISAF|access-date=14 January 2012}}</ref> At the 2012 [[470 World Championships]] in Barcelona, Mills and Clark claimed gold despite having suffered a [[black flag disqualification]] in the very first race of the championships.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mills and Clark make history with first 470 Worlds win|url=http://www.rya.org.uk/skandiateamgbr/latestnews/pages/articlewrapper.aspx?pageUrl=%2Fnewsevents%2Fnews%2FPages%2FMillsandClarkinthehistorybookswithfirst470Worldswin.aspx|access-date=19 May 2012|newspaper=RYA.org.uk|archive-date=22 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522125834/http://www.rya.org.uk/skandiateamgbr/latestnews/pages/articlewrapper.aspx?pageUrl=/newsevents/news/Pages/MillsandClarkinthehistorybookswithfirst470Worldswin.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Saskia was awarded an Honorary MSc in 2013 and an Honorary Doctorate in 2017 by the [[University of Chichester]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Awards |url=https://www.chi.ac.uk/alumni/honorary-awards/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=University of Chichester |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Clark was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to sailing.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61803|supp=y|page=N16|date=31 December 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{sports links}} * [http://www.millsandclark.co.uk/ 470 Girls Official Website] * [http://www.rya.org.uk/skandiateamgbr/meettheteam/pages/saskia-clark.aspx RYA Profile]
{{Footer Olympic Champions Women's 470}} {{Footer World Champions Women's 470}} {{Footer World Champions Women's 420}} {{ISAF World Sailor of the Year (female)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Saskia}} [[Category:1979 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Colchester]] [[Category:Olympic sailors for Great Britain]] [[Category:English female sailors (sport)]] [[Category:Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 470]] [[Category:Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – 470]] [[Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain]] [[Category:Olympic medalists in sailing]] [[Category:Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:420 (dinghy) class world champions]] [[Category:470 (dinghy) class world champions]] [[Category:Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – 470]] [[Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain]] [[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:World champions in sailing for Great Britain]] [[Category:People educated at Colchester County High School]] [[Category:21st-century English sportswomen]]