Carolijn collects

Carolijn Brouwer, one of the first females ever to win The Ocean Race when she claimed the trophy as part of Dongfeng Race Team in the 2017-18 edition, was awarded the prestigious Magnus Olsson Foundation Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday.

The prize, which every year is awarded by the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation to a sailor who has made a significant and lasting impact on the sport, was founded in memory of The Ocean Race legend Magnus 'Mange' Olsson, who passed away in 2013.

Previous recipients include The Ocean Race winners Torben Grael, Grant Dalton and Stan Honey along with Olympic sailing legends like Sir Ben Ainslie and Santiago Lange.

On learning of the prize, Carolijn said: "It's an honour to be awarded this prize and counted amongst sailing legends and The Ocean Race winners - it's hugely inspirational.

"Myself and the whole Team SCA had a special connection with Mange - I think everyone who knew him would say the same thing - and the first thing everyone talks about is his smile. The endless smile that he had on his face, his love for sailing and life in general, and his determination to never give up was infectious."

She added: "There are many women in our sport that have Magnus to thank for helping them to get to where they are now in their sailing careers."

As part of the award, Carolijn will mentor two Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation Scholarship winners, Alice Moss and Hugo Christensson, for one year.

Brouwer made history last summer when she won The Ocean Race – dubbed 'sport's toughest test of a team' – at her third attempt, having previously competed with Amer Sports Too in 2001-02 and Team SCA in 2014-15.

Carolijn has also participated in three Olympic Games (2000, 2004 and 2008) and has been named World Sailor of the Year twice, in 1998 and 2018.