Flying the flag for Britain

Local Thurgarton windsurfer Duncan Monaghan (16) has had a goal of representing Great Britain since he went to his first international competition three years ago.

With all competitions cancelled last year, he missed the chance in the 2020 Olympic type board class he trained for and had to switch to the new Olympic discipline of wind-foiling, known as iQfoil which will be used at the Paris Olympics.

All training venues were closed during lockdown, including his own local Notts County Sailing Club in Thurgarton. So, he started on the river at Burton Joyce, attracting much interest from passers-by, and he is almost certainly the first person to fly so low over the Trent!

Duncan has just returned from the World Championships at Lake Garda, Italy where he came fourth, and the National Youth National in Plymouth where he came 2nd. Last month he attended the European championships in Croatia where he finished 2nd in the U19s, achieving his goal of a podium place and silver medal for Britain.

Duncan is supported by the SportsAid ‘Backing The Best’ athlete programme which has helped over 60% of Britain’s medal winners in Tokyo. He is looking for sponsorship from local companies to help him reach his potential, if you could help please email: DuncanGBR713@gmail.com.

Duncan is joined in his enthusiasm and achievements by Mollie Spreckley from Bleasby, who recently competed at the UKWA National Windsurf Championships 2021, which saw 145 competitors come together from all over UK – the biggest racecourse event of the year.

Mollie was seventh overall in her sail size category and fourth girl. Mollie was sailing the Youth Techno board with a 7.8 sq m sail. She has recently returned from competing in Estonia at the Techno European Championships and her next International competition is the World Techno Championships in Garda Italy.