Athletes competing in sailing and water polo will be heading to the Paris Olympics in July. They took some time out of their busy training camps to speak with Peninsula Living Pittwater.
After a long seven-year campaign, sailor Jim Colley is off to his first Olympic Games with 49er sailing partner, Shaun Connor. “It’s been a hell of a journey and I certainly pinch myself,” Newport local Jim says. “I never pictured this moment and what it would feel like until we actually got it.”
Jim and Shaun met a decade ago while sailing a 29er together and formed a great team. They switched to sailing a 49er, a two-handed high-performance skiff with a hull length of 4.99 metres, and never looked back. The boats can reach speeds up to 25 knots.
Jim grew up in Avalon and is a member of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. He admits to making a number of sacrifices to get to the Olympics. “This has been full-time for about a year-and-a-half now,” he says, adding that the pair even need to schedule ‘rest’ into their training program. When they are not overseas competing in events – which can involve spending five hours a day on the water for up to six days – they are working on their boat, optimising their equipment, testing their sails and training on land both physically and mentally. The pair will bring all their own sailing equipment to the Games, apart from their boat, which will be waiting for them in France.
“The biggest challenge is the travel and the amount of time I spend away from family and friends,” Jim reflects.
It’s no surprise then that Jim is most looking forward to having his parents, Gerry and Sally, girlfriend, family and friends with him in Marseille. “My family haven’t watched me race for five or six years because most of my racing has been overseas, so to bring them along for the ride is going to be fantastic,” Jim explains.
Jim and Shaun are currently in France, where they are sailing their Olympic boat in waters off Marseille in preparation for the 49er event which runs from 28 July to 8 August.
“We wouldn’t be the favourite, but I’d say anyone within the top 12 in the world, which we certainly are, has a chance of winning a medal,” Jim says.
By Tamara Spray