Samoa’s first female Olympic sailor ready for Paris 2024

Vaimo’oi’a Ripley from Samoa will join a record-breaking 26 athletes from World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Program (ENP) at the first #GenderEqual Olympic Games, a tally that features 14 women and 12 men from world’s most remote countries.

Blazing a trail from Samoa’s serene waters to the Olympic stage, Ripley will be inspiring a whole new generation of Pacific athletes when she sets sail in Marseille Marina in Women’s Dinghy – ILCA 6.

“We are the custodians of the largest ocean in the world,” said Ripley. “By competing at the Olympic Games, I am showing that pursuing such a rewarding sport – linked directly to our Pacific heritage – is all possible!”

World’s smallest nations going big – Paris 2024 

Ripley is competing as part of a record number of 26 ENP athletes – a huge leap from eight at Tokyo 2020 – representing 17 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and Oceania on World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Programme, designed to get the planet’s smallest sailing nations to the start line of international regattas, where they can battle it out for Olympic spots.

Fiji’s raw youth to Olympic talent

Viliame Ratului of Fiji, a graduate of World Sailing’s Youth Emerging Nations Program, will also make his Olympic début in Marseille, competing in the Men’s Dinghy – ILCA 7 after a remarkable journey into sailing.

Ratului, born on Vanua Levu into one of the islands’ poorest settlements, recalls the moment that changed his life – when he was ‘spotted’ aged nine by the local yacht club coach after commandeering a dinghy without permission:

“We always looked forward to weekends – when we got to do sport. But when rugby was called off, me and my friends saw the opportunity. Coach Geoff Taylor gave chase – he had to show me how to sail back to shore!”

Seeing Villi’s raw talent, Taylor – coach to young sailors for 25 years – picked up Vili every weekend from that day to make sure he came to training. “I owe all this to that moment of kindness and belief in nurturing talent.”

Paris 2024 – realising dreams

World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Program – launched in 2015 – has so far supported the journeys of over 500 senior and youth athletes in 66 countries with funded training camps, flight bursaries, equipment charter, accommodation, world class coaching and fitness – and the chance to compete in life-changing international regattas.

“The World Sailing Emerging Nations Program aims to close the performance gap between nations and increase the number of athletes able to compete at the Olympic Games and realise their dreams of representing their country,” said David Graham, CEO of World Sailing.

“Many of the ENP athletes are from island nations and countries where there is a coastline and inland waters to sail on regularly, but the experience required to support an athlete at an elite level is lacking and, because of the remoteness, opportunities to compete internationally can become a huge barrier to progress.

“We are very proud of our Emerging Nations Program athletes, with more and more reaching world championship level and the Olympic Games. This year represents a significant improvement on Tokyo 2020, which demonstrates the value of the program. The athletes have shown determination and resilience to qualify for the Olympics and claim their place at Paris 2024, and we wish them all the very best in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.” 

Marseille Magic

The World Sailing Emerging Nations athletes making history at Paris 2024 include:

• Chile’s María José Poncell and Romania’s Ebru Bolat – first Olympic female sailors to represent their nations at these #GenderEqual Games.
• Thad Lettsome – British Virgin Islands’ first Olympic sailor since 1992.
• Peru’s Florencia Chiarella – making her Olympic début at Marseille Marina, alongside Maria Belen Bazo, first female Peruvian Olympic windsurfer (Tokyo), now set to become her nation’s first Olympic iQFOiL athlete  
• St Lucia’s Luc Chevrier – Youth Olympian – heading to his second Olympic Games after Tokyo, cementing the future for this Eastern Caribbean nation whose last male Olympic sailor was Michael Green back in 1996.
• Mozambique’s first Olympic sailing athlete Deizy Nhaquile, and Nethra Kumanan – India’s first female Olympic sailor – who both débuted at Tokyo, now head to their second Olympic Games.