PORTLAND sailor and Olympic champion Hannah Mills is to take on a running challenge for the sailing charity set up in memory of her friend.

Hannah Mills and sailing teammate Saskia Clark have been invited to start the Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday, October 23. Hannah will then get her running shoes on and join in.

The good friends and sailing partners, who live locally, sailed to Olympic gold in the women’s 470 class in Rio this summer.

Hannah will join more than 20,000 others to take on the 10 mile run in aid of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, a charity set up in memory of Andrew “Bart” Simpson from Sherborne which is based at the sailing academy on Portland.

Double Olympic sailing champion Iain Percy founded the charity alongside Sir Ben Ainslie and Andrew’s wife Leah, after Andrew tragically lost his life in an America’s Cup training accident.

The charity aims to “inspire the next generation” by using sailing to transform the lives of young people in the UK and around the world.

After Hannah and Saskia’s gold in the two-person dinghy helped Team GB finish the Olympic sailing regatta top of the medals table in Rio, Saskia then returned to dry land to work at the foundation.

The Great South Run starts and finishes in Southsea, overlooking the Solent, which provided the backdrop for the previous Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event that was hosted by Portsmouth in July. The course has been graced by world-class athletes such as Liz McColgan, Paula Radcliffe, Sonia O’Sullivan, and Mo Farah, who won the men’s race in 2009.

Hannah and Saskia, who are also nominated for the 2016 Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, said: “It is wonderful for us to be asked to be honorary starters at the Great South Run in Portsmouth in a few weeks’ time. Following on from the amazing events this summer, it is great to see events like this which engage and motivate thousands of people to get out and get active.”

Hannah added: “Getting girls involved in sport has always been important to us and it’s something which Saskia is going to be focusing on whilst working for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, which uses sailing to engage young people and offer them fantastic opportunities moving forwards.”

The Great South Run has grown into a festival of sport in Portsmouth and Southsea, with 25,000 people taking part in four events across two days, including the Junior & Mini Great South Run and the Great South Run 5k.

To support the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation at the Great South Run, email: tim@andrewsimpsonsailing.org

Entries for the Great South Run, the Great South Run 5k and the Junior and Mini Great South Run are open at www.Greatrun.org/South