The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2001 were held in Lisbon, Portugal on 4 November 2001. The presenter for the evening was World Champion and Olympic sailor, Mateusz Kusierewicz (POL).

Male Winner - Robert SCHEIDT (BRA)

In recognition of his domination of the Laser Class over the years to such an extent that any sailor would be hard pushed to match across any other class, winning his fifth Laser World Championship title in 2001 following on from his silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Regatta.

Female Winner - Ellen MacARTHUR (GBR)

In recognition of her extraordinary success in the 2000-2001 Vendée Globe single-handed circumnavigation. She proved that size doesn't matter by trouncing all except the winner to become the fastest single-handed female circumnavigator and placed second in the race.