The Australian Sailing Team is competing at the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta this week, racing on the very waters where they will chase a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s one-person dinghy event at the LA 2028 Games. Fourteen Australians are among 137 boats across the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes at the Port of Los Angeles.
While several squad members raced in Long Beach last year, this week’s event represents the first international Olympic Classes Regatta held on the LA2028 racecourse in San Pedro. The Australians have already been building their knowledge of the venue, having competed at last week’s North American ILCA Championships.
Double Olympic Champion Matt Wearn understands the value of spending time on an Olympic racecourse better than most. Wearn said the squad has already encountered a wide range of conditions. “We have been here for nearly two weeks now and have had everything from 0 to 20 knots, so we are getting the full experience,” he said.
“It’s always really important to spend as much time as possible on the Olympic waters to build confidence in the conditions,” Wearn explained. “By having the time here this year, we can go home, look for similar conditions to train in, and then come back and see the improvement next time.”
Racing will take place both inside and outside the seawall, creating two distinct racecourses with unique challenges. Paris 2024 Olympian Zoe Thomson, one of seven Australians in the ILCA 6 fleet, said the venue is already showing its true character.
“The training has been super valuable,” Thomson shared. “Every training day has greeted us with a seabreeze of some description. The seabreeze tends to favour one side, and the downwinds are more open with a smooth, slightly choppy sea state. Of course, our warm-up regatta had four tricky days with ‘Catalina Eddy’ conditions, so the variety is proving it’s a great venue.”
Thomson believes becoming familiar with both the sailing conditions and the surrounding environment will provide a significant advantage ahead of the 2028 Games. “I think if we can feel comfortable and become locals both on and off the water, it will be a big advantage in two years’ time,” she said.
The San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta runs from 19 to 24 July and marks another important milestone on the road to LA2028.
Australian entries at the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta include:
ILCA 6 (67 entries): Elyse Ainsworth (AST), Mara Stransky (AST), Zoe Thomson (AST), Casey Imeneo (ASF), Evie Saunders (ASF), Francess Beebe (AUS), Sylvie Stannage (AUS).
ILCA 7 (70 entries): Matt Wearn (AST), Ethan McAullay (AST), Zac Littlewood (AST), Michael Compton (AS Squad), Lawson McAullay (AS Squad), Isaac Shotte (AS Squad), Alexander Bijkerk (SSPP).
