South Australian Olympia Aldersey takes home world champ rowing gold, sets sights on 2020 Tokyo Olympics
South Australian Olympia Aldersey not only wins gold at World Rowing Championships in Austria, but wins her way through to the Tokyo Olympics next year.
- Meg’s back on bike and aiming for Tokyo
- Sevens team preparing for Tokyo heatwave
- Olympic pair’s extraordinary purple patch
- Brandon Starc flies high ahead of world athletics champs
South Australian rower Olympia Aldersey has had a golden day in Austria not only winning her first senior World Rowing Championship gold medal, but qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
A member of Australia’s Women’s Four alongside Lucy Stephan, Sarah Hawe and Katrina Werry, the crew went undefeated throughout the regatta to claim the top honours.
By making the A-Final the Australians qualified the boat berth for the Olympics and by winning gold, will head to Tokyo with the No. 1 ranked boat in the world.
Stream over 50 sports live & anytime on your TV or favourite device with KAYO SPORTS. The biggest Aussie sports and the best from overseas. Just $25/month. No lock-in contract. Get your 14 day free trial >
Speaking after the win in Linz-Ottensheim, Aldersey — a member of the Adelaide Rowing Club — said she was delighted with the crew’s victory.
“I won my first World Championships gold medal back in 2012 in the Under 23s, so it’s taken me a while to get here,” the 27-year-old said.
“I think you can be a capable athlete mentally, but it’s about getting all your ducks lined up in a row and getting yourself in the right space to deliver.
“It’s taken me this long to get here, and I can’t thank enough all the people that helped us to get here.”
Aldersey, who has relocated from Adelaide to Sydney to train at the National Training Centre in Penrith, said she couldn’t have done it with the support of the team.
“We really worked as a crew to get here and it’s a credit to all of us for delivering our roles to get us over the line,” she said.
Crew-mate, Hawe said after the win: “The field was so strong, so it’s really amazing to come away with the win.
“Last year we won silver, so we had a lot of determination to do better this year. I’ve never been to the Olympics before, so it would be really amazing to have the chance to go.”
Fellow South Australian, Molly Goodman was due to compete in the Women’s Eight A-final at 11pm Adelaide time on Sunday.
Making the Olympics is something of a birthright for Aldersey, who — according to the Rowing Australia website — was named Olympia because she was born during the Opening Ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
In 2016, Aldersey competed at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the Women’s Eight, while also acting as the women’s sculling reserve.