Welsh sailor Michael Beckett came from humble beginnings to win two UK Radial Youth National titles before joining the British Sailing Team. Beckett first took to the seas on his father’s handmade boat, but is now highly regarded as one of the world’s best sailors and clinched his first senior medal at the 2018 Laser European Championships taking silver. He made a splash at the Laser World Championships at Melbourne, Australia in February 2020 at one point closing in on the top 5 before finishing in 13th overall, and broke into the top 10 of the world ranking positions in January 2017.

Born and raised in Solva on the Pembrokeshire coast in South West Wales, Beckett first began sailing in his father’s handcrafted vessel when he was just 5 years old, and began racing four years later when he was 9. He won the UK Radial Youth National title for two consecutive years before he was asked to join the British Sailing Team, and became part of the Laser squad whilst still studying his Engineering degree in Ship Science at the University of Southampton.

Beckett’s first senior medal came in the 2018 Laser European Championships when he claimed silver in La Rochelle after narrowly missing out on gold finishing one point behind Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus. Beckett performed with an impressive display of consistency over regatta’s six days, and has continued to deliver results for the British Sailing Team over the last two years.