On Thursday March 28 2024 the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced the selection of four sailing athletes in the Australian Olympic Team in the 49er and 49erFX classes, with the Paris 2024 Games now just over 100 days away.
London silver medallist Olivia Price will return to the Olympic stage after being selected to the Australian Olympic Team by the Australian Olympic Committee for this year’s Paris Games, 12 years after becoming the youngest female sailor to win an Olympic medal sailing as part of the team that included Pittwater sailor Nina Curtis.
Olivia returns in a new class, with a new partner, after she was announced alongside Evie Haseldine in the 49erFX and Jim Colley and Shaun Connor in the 49er as Australia’s skiff selections for the Olympic regatta.
“Tears started welling up in my eyes,” said Price on receiving the selection call.
“I never thought I would come back to Olympic sailing so it is a really special feeling that I never thought I would get to feel again.”
Price missed selection for Rio 2016 in the 49erFX before taking time out of the sport, but returned when a social-distanced walk with lifelong friend and mentee Haseldine during a COVID-19 lockdown laid the foundation for Paris 2024.
“I’ve known Evie since she was born,” said Price with a laugh.
“I stopped sailing for about five years [but returned] once we had that conversation [about sailing together]. I wasn’t really looking for anything to step back into, but what really sparked my interest was Evie’s dedication, her enthusiasm for the sport, and doing whatever was required.”
The team went on to finish tenth at the Paris Olympic Test Event before securing Bronze at the 2023 World Championships in The Hague, Australia’s best World Championship result in the class.
“I’m looking to the next 130-odd days (before Paris), there is a lot more hard work coming but I think Evie and I are up to the challenge.”
The 49erFX team will be coached by Victor Paya Canal, who has led a resurgence in the squad since he took the reins in 2022.
“The squad has achieved some amazing results over the past 18 months and it’s a testament to how hard we’ve been pushing one another,” added Price. “We’ll continue to push each other as we move towards Paris.”
Colley and Connor’s selection is another one forged in long-time friendship and over a decade sailing together.
“We met when we were 11 or 12 at a Manly Juniors training camp at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, and first decided to sail a 29er together in 2013,” said Colley.
The duo from Pittwater and Manly began their 49er campaign in 2018, and Colley says they knew they “had the right ingredients to make a good team almost from the get-go.”
Their selection comes after a strong couple of years at regattas across the globe and being named finalists in the Team division in the 2023 NSW Australian Sailing Awards for 2023.
“The biggest high for us as a team was the Euros in 2022 where we finished fifth, because that felt like the first time we tapped into what we were capable of. We were able to build on everything we’d done, and from that moment we knew we could compete at the top end of the fleet.”
Colley smiles when asked about what makes Connor the ultimate sailing partner.
“We both refuse to give up, which has been something I have been proud of. We’ve had a huge amount of adversity and we’ve always worked at it and come back from it, which is what has now paid dividends.”
Jim Colley and Shaun Connor CREDIT Sailing Energy
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