Genoa – «I’m leaving the America’s Cup because it’s underpaid. The compensation per day is one tenth of what I usually receive as a professional sailor in other projects. I can’t afford it financially. I also hope, however, to make people reflect on the need for equal treatment between male and female athletes.” Elodie-Jane Mettraux she is a 39-year-old sailor, with a 4-year-old daughter, two round-the-world crew trips in her sailor bag, the first woman to arrive in the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race with the giant maxi trimaran (32 meters) of the Frenchman François Gabart. In short, an experienced navigator.
Mettraux has decided to retire from what is a dream for everyone. The America’s Cup, the trophy of sailing trophies. She was selected three weeks ago by Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the Swiss team competing for the Cup. She had been chosen, together with five other colleagues, to make up the team that will compete in the America’s Cup Womenthe first all-female edition of the trophy, a collateral event compared to the actual America’s Cup, and combined with the Youth America’s Cup, the latter a competition for young people under 25 already tested in 2013 and 2017.
The Swiss skipper on social media speaks of retirement as a “difficult choice”, motivated by “respect” for her “profound beliefs on equal pay between men and women”. It is not the first time that an athlete throws a stone into the waters of the world of big sailing. The echo of the post has not yet died down Clarisse Crémerthe French navigator who reported being dumped by her sponsor, Banque Populaire, after becoming a mother (the reason: the risk of not qualifying for the non-stop solo round-the-world trip).
We contacted Mattreaux to have him explain his choice. «Alinghi Red Bull Racing has decided to recognize the same compensation for young people and women (involved in the America’s Cup Youth and Women teams, ed.). But it’s a creally low compensation compared to any rate for professional sailors”, he specifies. «It’s a tenth of what I usually receive for any other project I participate in, considering a daily rate. And this makes it economically impossible for me to continue this campaign. But I also thought it wasn’t right to take part in the America’s Cup Women under these conditions, even though it was a great opportunity for me, because they don’t reflect the value of my experience.”
The sailor also explains to us that her goal “is not to put Alinghi Red Bull in a bad light”, but to make all teams and organizers reflect of the America’s Cup “to make them aware of the fact that they must treat female athletes in the same way as men”. The reference goes to the athletes of the actual America’s Cup teams, which do not include women and where some salaries are of the highest level.
Now, there are those who may think that the actual America’s Cup is not comparable with the America’s Cup Women, that the latter is less important and requires a less prolonged commitment over time for its preparation, so the teams invest less. Even in wages. « The America’s Cup Women is not the America’s Cup, it’s true, but it is still the only America’s Cup in which female sailors can participate for now», replies Mettraux.
Her decision received solidarity from several other female sailors. As Alexia Barrier, with which Mettraux should race to break the record for the fastest lap of the world: “Well done Elodie for bringing this message for gender equality in our sport”. It’s still, Samantha Davies, who writes: “Full support from me Elodie. Thank you for defending the rights of future generations of female sailors.”
A horizon that Alinghi Red Bull Racing is also looking at. “The Youth America’s Cup and the Women America’s Cup are not the America’s Cup – specifies the team in a note -. They are a stepping stone to a future where Alinghi Red Bull Racing treats everyone as equals.”
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