Kingston, April 5, 2025 – Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance from Chester, N.S., finished in 9th position in 49erFX at the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, which ended today in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, as the Canadian sailors took part in their first competition since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Ninth following the fourth day of the event, the sisters – who finished 11th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – were able to climb three spots Friday and qualify for the Medal Race in 6th position with 99 points, eight points from a podium position.
In Saturday’s Medal Race, which was contested by the top 10 boats from the preliminary races and where points were doubled, Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance took the 9th spot to finish the event in the same position with a total of 117 points.
Freya Black and Saskia Tidey from Great Britain won gold (73 points), followed by Johanne and Andrew Schmidt (Denmark, 79 points) and Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland (Norway, 105 points).
“It’s been really fun,” said Georgia Lewin-Lafrance. “It’s been pretty much a fitness test for us since we haven’t had much time in the boat. We had, like, ten days of sailing before the regatta started, so we were both really tired and just trying to manage our energy this week. We’re happy to have finished in the top 10, and it’s nice to be back with the fleet and racing.”
“The adrenaline of being back with the fleet was really amazing,” added Antonia Lewin-LaFrance. “I forgot what it felt like. It was really exciting racing, especially in finals, but with the offshore wind, conditions were really, really tricky. But a lot of learnings and good things moving forward.”
Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance officially committed to going through the new cycle leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in mid-February.
A total of 19 Canadians took part in the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, which was part of the Sailing Grand Slam Series, and the first major sailing event featuring multi-Olympic classes in this new Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
Canadian results at the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta
49erFX (/46 teams/équipes)
9. *Antonia Lewin-Lafrance & Georgia Lewin-LaFrance (Chester, N.S./N.-É.)
37. Tara Golonka & Siobhan Golonka (Victoria, B.C./C.-B.)
ILCA 6 (/110 sailors/athlètes)
33. *Clara Gravely (Toronto, ON)
78. Lilly Rainham (Halifax, N.S./N.-É)
88. *Annie Balasubramanian (Toronto, ON)
97. Victoria Coady (Coquitlam, B.C./C.-B.)
110. Elspeth Simms (Halifax, N.S./N.-É.)
49er (/91 teams/équipes)
48. *Will Jones (Burlington, ON) & Arie Moffat (Kingston, ON)
69. *Thomas Staples & William Staples (Beaconsfield, QC)
Formula Kite (W/F) (/30 sailors/athlètes)
24.*Emily Bugeja (Vancouver, B.C./C.-B.)
ILCA 7 (/174)
53. *Liam Bruce (Oakville, ON)
69. *James Juhasz (Oakville, ON)
144. Hunter Parks (Pickering, ON)
NACRA 17 (/33 teams/équipes)
21. *Galen Richardson (Toronto, ON) & Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S./N.-É.)
*Members of Sail Canada’s National Team
Full results are available at https://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall.
About Sail Canada
Established in 1931, Sail Canada is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the country. Sail Canada is a leading international sailing nation, proud of its world class athletes, lifelong participants and inclusive culture. The organization and its members are committed to excellence by developing and training its leaders, athletes, sailors, instructors, coaches and officials. With the valued support from our partners, the Provincial Sailing Associations and our member clubs, schools, organizations and stakeholders, sailing is promoted in all its forms. By setting standards and delivering programs from home pond to podium for Canadians of all ages and abilities, from dinghies to keelboats, cruising to navigation, windsurfing to powerboating and accessible sailing, Sail Canada sets sail for all, sail to win and sail for life.
A sport in the Olympic program since the first Games in 1896, except in 1904, the pursuit of success in these Games is what fuels the focus of Sail Canada as Canadian athletes have so far achieved nine Olympic and five Paralympic medals.
