Olympic champion Mills: Starting a family brings environmental dilemmas

Olympic champion Hannah Mills says she thought ‘long and hard' about the environmental impact of starting a family. Mills, the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time, is expecting a baby in mid-October with partner and windsurfer Nick Dempsey. Ad/> A passionate environmentalist, the 34-year-old started the Big Plastic Pledge in 2019 and attended the United Nations Oceans Conference last week.

SailingFletcher-Scott embarks on new journey with new partner Hawes21/04/2022 AT 16:21 In planning her future Mills mulled over the potential negative environmental impact of bringing up a child. «Having a baby has an impact on the environment, for sure, in terms of all of the resources and everything,» said Mills. «I did think long and hard about the impact that has on the planet in itself.

I thought about what I can do to mitigate that as much as possible. »Everyone's got different reasons for caring about the environment and wanting to do my bit. Getting pregnant hasn't changed that, it's motivated me to work harder.

«It's a tricky one, the point is we all need to think, make conscious decisions and understand how we can best mitigate the impact. »I've been incredibly motivated by this for a number of years now and trying to make a difference." Cardiff-born Mills has lived by the sea throughout her life, starting sailing aged eight on family holidays to Cornwall. She has naturally stepped away from competing but remains a member of Great Britain's SailGP team and Global Purpose Ambassador for the event.