Marseille, August 7, 2024 – Sarah Douglas from Toronto took the 8th position overall in ILCA 6 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following the last race of the event, the Medal Race, which was held Wednesday and where she took the third spot.
Entering the last race in 10th place overall, Douglas ended up third in the Medal Race to gain two spots and finish the competition in 8th position overall. The Medal Race is contested by the ten best boats following the preliminary races and points are doubled.
“We waited for a while, but the wind came in nicely and I was just going out to have a nice, clean, fun race,” said Sarah Douglas. “I was actually more nervous for my training partner (Line Flem Hoest from Norway), who was in the bronze medal position and I’m so extremely excited to see her win bronze. She’s a really hard worker and I’ve been training with her this entire Olympic quad. So her victory is my victory. She’s been in this group with us for a while and it’s nice to see success come out of our group.”
“To be honest, moving from 10th to 8th place doesn’t really mean anything to me. You’re either an Olympian or an Olympic medalist but still, it’s nice to be able to call myself a two-time Olympic finalist. To be in the top 10 at two Olympic Games, I think it’s been a while since Canada has done that, and I’m happy to be in that position. It’s just an honour to represent Canada and to have the maple leaf in the top 10 at the Olympic Games.”
Sarah Douglas, who finished sixth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, started out this year’s competition in 23rd place. She then made her way up to 17th place at the end of day 2, and then up to 11th place after days 3 and 4. On Monday, the last day of preliminary racing, she made her way into the top 10 and qualified for the Medal Race thanks to a 13th-place finish in race 9, while race 10 was cancelled due to wind conditions. The Medal Race was initially scheduled for Tuesday but was pushed back to Wednesday, once again due to wind conditions.
“The wind has been really tricky, especially in the lead-up as we actually were restricted from training some days because the priority was to get other classes racing, so we probably had a few less days of training than we wanted. But I’ve spent so much time in Marseille, so I felt ready. I felt excited to race, and there was a lot of anticipation. I kind of started the competition a little bit on my heels and then I had to continue to fight back, and never quite got those top five finishes that I was hoping for. So I fought my way into the Medal Race, but I just wasn’t quite fighting for a medal this week, and that’s just what it is.”
“But the Paris 2024 Olympic Games experience was drastically different from Tokyo 2020. I mean, having my family chant my name and cheer me on every single day as I was going out in the water is something that will live in my memory forever, it’s amazing to have them here and have friends and family present formy Olympic experience. It was a completely different experience for me with my family, and also the way I approached it. I’ve really grown up and learned from all the experiences from Tokyo, so it was really nice to apply it to Paris and I didn’t really have a problem in that respect.”
Even before the Medal Race started, Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands and Anne-Marie Rindom from Denmark were already sure to be respectively crowned Paris 2024 ILCA 6 Olympic champion and silver medalist. Line Flem Hoest from Norway took the bronze medal following the Medal Race.
Emily Bugeja: 18th in women’s kiteboarding
Canada’s Emily Bugeja finished the preliminary round in 18th position as the women’s kiteboarding event was held for the first time ever at the Olympic Games. She therefor didn’t qualify for the final round.
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.
