Sam Sills: Grit, Pain, and the Long Way Back!

Eighteen months away from competition changes an athlete. For Sam Sills, returning to the start-line with the British windsurfing team at the European Championships was not just a comeback — it was the culmination of a long, often painful fight simply to keep going.

Injury had taken him out of the sport for a year and a half, leaving him unable to train, unable to race, and, at times, unable to do very much at all. The road back wasn’t marked by clear milestones or neat progressions. It was messy, slow, and relentless.

By Emma Maguire.

Sam sailing at the 2025 Europeans, a journey of rehabilitation and determination!

“I feel pretty tired right now,” Sam says. “It’s been long and I still feel I have a way to go to keep recovering.” There’s fatigue in his words, but also something stronger: resolve. Because despite everything, he made it back. “I’m grateful that I was able to be back on the startline.”

iQFOiL Senior Europeans in action!

That gratitude is hard-earned. For months, Sam’s world shrank. “Physical for sure, I just couldn’t do very much for a long time,” he explains. The physical limitations were only part of it. “Mentally it was hard to live in a lot of pain. It affects everything — from your decision making to your energy levels.” Pain wasn’t something to push through for an hour’s session; it was there all the time, shaping every day.

iQFOiL Senior European Championship fleet.

What carried him through wasn’t blind optimism or a fixed end goal. It was grit, stripped down to its simplest form. “I don’t really think I had any choice. Just had to keep going.” Sam learned to survive by narrowing his focus. “What helped me a lot was to have really short horizons and just try not to think too far ahead — just short term, try to deal with one thing at a time.”

iQFOiL Senior European Champs took place in Scilly, pictured above.

That mindset eventually led him back to the biggest test of all: the European Championships. Standing on the startline again, wearing GB colours, was already a victory. Then the wind arrived.

iQFOiL Senior European Championship fleet.

“The second day of the event was just perfect — super windy, full power racing — and I properly loved it. Still buzzing thinking about it.” After everything he’d been through, those powered-up conditions weren’t something to fear. They were a reminder of why the fight was worth it.

The iQFOiL Senior European Championships was a moment that meant so much to Sam.

Sam is clear-eyed about where he stands now. This wasn’t a fairytale ending, and the journey isn’t finished. “I still have a long way to go,” he says, “but getting there.”

There’s no bravado in Sam Sills’ comeback, no grand statements or forced triumph. Just a quiet, stubborn determination — the kind that shows up every day, deals with one thing at a time, and, eventually, finds its way back to the start-line.

Sam's journey teaches us don't give up when dark times come. The more storms you face in life, the stronger you'll be, hold on, greater is coming! Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year! Here's to 2026!