“Thank you for showing girls and women around the world that we can accomplish anything and to dream big. Your perseverance, drive and commitment to this gruelling competition is inspiring.” Billie Jean King
Show notes
Sally shares how she first got into sailing and the pathway she took to get to the Olympics in Beijing
Sailing at university and how she moved from being a new member of the crew to leading the team
Deciding to become a professional sailor and how she followed her passion
What was involved in the 6 year campaign of getting to the Olympics. How she kept motivated over the years
The type of sailing she was doing and how it works in scoring for the Olympics
What she’s learnt about teamwork from sailing as part of crews
Heading over to China, and dealing with the different challenges before the games even started.
What happened in the the final medal race
The learning Sally took away from that experience
Taking a break from sailing and getting over the sense of failure and loss
“The hardest sailing you will ever do” being a member of the first all female team for SCA in the Volvo Ocean Race
What it was like being out on the boat; the day to day routine, working for 4 hrs on, 4 hrs off, dealing with the pressure of racing while out at sea and keeping the focus on driving the boat forward
Learning as much as they could while sailing, and dealing with the highs and lows while out at sea
Dealing with set backs, never giving up and fighting all the way to the finish line
The training they needed to do, to get as fit and strong as possible before the race starts.
Getting respect from the guys for the job they were doing
The reasons behind the Magenta Project and what their aims are
The challenges going forward especially around gaining sponsorship
Why you should give sailing a go!
You can listen to this episode now!!!
Aims to increase the participation of women at the highest level of sailing and promote inclusion, diversity and positive female role models in society at large.
You can listen to the Tough Girl Podcast on the go via iTunes, Soundcloud & Stitcher!