Olympic champion extends her hiatus
Double Olympic medallist Jo Aleh is relishing a new challenge in the private workforce but isn’t turning her back on sailing completely.
The 31-year-old, who won silver with Polly Powrie at last year’s Rio Olympics, decided to take a year off from the women’s 470 to explore different sailing options. Her main target was earning a ticket for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race but she just missed out on joining Team Brunel after an extensive trial period.
Contributing to the uncertainty for Aleh was the fact Powrie retired from Olympic sailing at the start of this year. The pair had first teamed up in 2009, forging a hugely successful partnership that delivered Olympic gold in London in 2012 and the 2013 world title. They placed in the top four in every event after London, culminating in their silver at last year’s Rio Games.
Aleh will start with the Auckland office of Ernst & Young in midnovember. The opportunity came about a result of Ernst & Young’s global campaign to help athletes transition into the workforce and she hopes to end up in some form of consultancy eventually.
‘‘My mind is made up, my contract signed, in mid-november I will be starting something completely different to anything I have ever done before,’’ Aleh said.
‘‘This unknown-ness is ultimately what led me to the decision to go in this direction. I always believe that I don’t really know something until I try it. During this last year - all this
would be constantly pushed. He didn’t believe doubts about the ability of monohulls to foil into the wind should be a handbrake.
‘‘Every boat has pros and cons ... there are conditions where the AC50S weren’t good up wind in really light conditions. In subfoiling conditions, a boat that is searching for things to do, sailing different boats, being in different areas of sailing than I have been before - I have not found anything yet that completely excited me as much as my Olympic sailing did, or that really uses all the skills I have that I enjoy using.
‘‘So rather than chasing myself back in circles doing things I already know, I am taking a leap in a new direction. When this opportunity to work at EY came up, it really couldn’t have fitted more perfectly.’’
With the direction of one large part of her life solved, her future in sailing remains unclear but Aleh is sure about one thing.
‘‘I have no intention of actually retiring just yet, as I have no idea what the future holds,’’ said Aleh, who is a member of the 2017 NZL Sailing Team.
designed to foil is never going to be as great as a boat that is designed to be a really good displacement boat in high winds. That’s part of the process.
‘‘It’s not just making the highest performance boat we can, it’s making a boat that is good for matchracing.’’