Double Olympic medalist joins NZ SailGP team ahead of Plymouth SailGP
by NZ SailGP Team 28 Jul 2022 20:07 NZST
28 July 2022
Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) on their way to winning the Womens 470 Gold Medal - Day 6 - Weymouth 2012 © Richard Gladwell
The New Zealand SailGP Team has added a new star to its line-up.
Olympic 470 Gold and Silver medalist, three-time Olympian and multiple World Champion, Jo Aleh joins the crew in Plymouth ahead of this weekend’s Great Britain Sail Grand Prix.
Aleh along with Liv Mackay and Erica Dawson, is also part of Live Ocean Racing. All three are now part of SailGP’s Women’s Pathway - an initiative launched in 2021 to fast track female sailing talent to be competitive in all positions on the F50. [S-W: It is likely that these three will form the nucleus of the Emirates Team NZ Womens' America's Cup crew.]
Aleh, who won Olympic Gold in London (2012) and Silver in Rio (2016) in the 470 class, brings extensive skill and experience to the New Zealand crew. She is now in her fourth Olympic campaign, having previously represented NZ in the then Laser Radial class in 2008, 470 in 2012 and 2016, and is currently campaigning in the 49erFX. Aleh also worked as a coach in the Tokyo2020 Olympic cycle.
She joined the NZSailGPteam in Plymouth on Wednesday for team meetings, analysis and safety training before her first day on the water the following day.
“It’s hugely exciting to be joining the New Zealand SailGP Team,” she says. “There isn’t much time to train and learn as you go, so I’m really looking forward to being thrown right in the deep end to take in as much as I can before this weekend’s racing.”
“Sailing on Amokura for the first time is going to be pretty remarkable. These boats are so fast and high performance. When you add a super short format with just two days of racing, you have something that’s truly unlike anything else on water,” she says.
For Aleh, the learning opportunity goes beyond sailing at speeds of up to 100 km/h. With her background in partner and solo dinghy sailing, she’s also looking forward to being part of a larger unit.
“I love learning and challenging myself - that’s why I’m sailing again and it will be great to be part of a bigger team to understand more about the comms and how different positions work together to sail the boat well.”
This weekend, Aleh will race in the role of strategist - feeding critical information to Driver Peter Burling to help make tactical decisions around the racecourse. In lighter winds, Aleh will also step into the second grinder position.
Having now competed professionally for 13 years, Aleh says she’s pleased to see pathways emerging for women in the sport but that there’s still work to be done.
“Five years ago, there were no real, competitive pathways for women to train and race at this level, so to see how this programme has grown and the opportunities it has opened up has been impressive but hopefully it’s only the start.”
“Eventually, we want [women] to be here because we’re the best ones for the job, not because we have to be. Reaching that point will mean training, racing and getting right in the mix with the guys.”