Meet our Olympians: 49erFX: Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen

Ali and Mariah Sailing Energy

Apr 22, 2021

Photos courtesy of SailingEnergy

Heading to Tokyo soon, our 49erFX team of Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen are up against it; the 49er skiff is a really tough-to-master technical boat and the international fleet is one of the most competitive.

The good news is that Ali and Mariah are a solid partnership working together to achieve results. Ali drives and concentrates on “controlling the controllables”, which includes ensuring the team gets sleep and the needed logistics are in place. Mariah is the nutritionist and a complement to Ali’s boatwork.

Ali and Mariah Sailing Energy

The team formed in the fall of 2016 to sail the 49er FX. During their first season sailing this unstable but powerful skiff let to some early swimming lessons according to Mariah.  They finished second at the North American Championships in 2016 and 2017. They would go on to record a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, earning an Olympic spot in the event for Canada for Tokyo 2020.

Both Ali and Mariah have Olympian fathers; Martin ten Hove and John Millen both crewed with Frank – in 470 – and Terry – in FD – McLaughlin. Ali, who later earned her degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queens, started by sailing Optimists at Kingston YC and worked her way through the Youth Sailing ladder.

Ali and Mariah Sailing Energy

Ali -Optis at KYC

After sailing in the Optimist class for several years as a member of the RCYC Junior Club, Mariah progressed on to the High-Performance team where she began racing 420s and eventually 29ers. She is slated to crew in the Canada’s Cup this fall.

Ali and Mariah Sailing Energy

Maria sailed 29ers before moving up

Sailing together Ali and Mariah continue to build confidence achieving a mix of results in the class. Mariah explains that the 49er a mix of adrenalin and instability. “How will we do in Tokyo? It’s a great opportunity to learn and we can do well. If we are on the same page, great things can happen.” As you can see from the sailing video below Made a year ago when the pair were selected to the Team), screaming along on the dual trapezes side by sides gives them an unparalleled opportunity to work closely.

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