#jo aleh

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Jo Aleh on sailing the AC-75

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Finally, some good food…

Jo Aleh after helming Taihoro on the Waitemata harbour.

(I’d be buzzing too!)

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CUP BLOG: HISTORY MADE AS JO ALEH BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN CREW ONBOARD AN AC75

With the launch and first sail of Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC75 ‘Taihoro’ today out on the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, history was made as

That it should be Jo Aleh that makes history, is no surprise in New Zealand yachting circles. For her entire sailing career, she has pushed the boundaries of women’s sport becoming one of the most decorated female Olympians in history. Success though, was signalled from a very long way back. Having started out in a little Optimist dinghy in 1995 at the Ponsonby Cruising Club, a move into the popular P-Class saw her write her name for the first time in the history books with a win at the Tanner Cup in 2002, the coveted New Zealand youth inter-provincial sailing competition. In doing so, she became the first woman to do so – a feat matched in 2010 by current ETNZ sailor Erica Dawson.

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One year after the victory in Barcelona, Emirates Team New Zealand are back on the water training

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Jo Aleh, and the difference between representation and tokenism

Jo Aleh’s America’s Cup selection reignites debate over quotas, tokenism, and genuine inclusion in elite sailing.

The America’s Cup rule mandating one woman among the five-person crew isn’t universally liked. Team NZ’s CEO Grant Dalton told RNZ he was “quite verbally against it” because it felt tokenistic. He later admitted that without such a rule, “instinctively the guys are going to pick the guys.” That’s not hostility, it’s habit.

Change, especially in elite sport, rarely happens without a shove. The Women’s America’s Cup provided the proof of concept; the quota ensures the door stays open long enough for talent like Aleh to walk through.

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Kiwi yachtie is no average Jo

New Zelander Jo Aleh competed in four Olympics, and coached in a fifth, during a 16-year span. The 38-year-old Olympic gold and silver medal

New Zelander Jo Aleh competed in four Olympics, and coached in a fifth, during a 16-year span. The 38-year-old Olympic gold and silver medalist in the 470, who also competed in the 2024 Women’s America’s Cup, offers her view on these topics:

On finishing seventh in the 49erFX at Paris 2024:

It was more of an adventure than any of my previous Games. It was a lot tougher in many ways – with a new boat for me, jumping in the deep end – but it was really enjoyable overall. I love the FX. It’s definitely the most fun thing I’ve sailed. It’s challenging and athletic, and it can definitely punish you if you get it wrong. It was an awesome experience trying to do something that was always going to be super-hard. It was definitely a lot of fun.

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On being involved with the Women’s America’s Cup:

It’s amazing when you see people put everything into it – the search for performance on so many levels, like technology and development, as well as sailing. I hope this is just the start of a women’s series, or something that can continue. A consistent Women’s America’s Cup, with a set of events leading into it like the guys do. It would be a shame to start the ball rolling and then just let it fade away.

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Can’t wait for Saturday!

A nice intro from the ETNZ gals.

Go team!

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Congrats to Jo Aleh and Molly Meech of NZ for storming up the 49er FX standings. They got a 3rd, second and a win and are now sitting at 7th place.

I smell a medal if they keep up this form!