Ep151: Sarah Douglas Canadian Olympic Sailor

June 29, 2023
Born in Burlington, Ontario, Sarah Douglas started sailing at the age of seven on the island of Barbados. She started out sailing the Optimist, a small single-handed dingy often used by kids. Sarah competed as a junior in the North American and World Championships and became the Canadian National Champion before the age of 15. After outgrowing the Optimist, Sarah returned to Canada in 2008 and transitioned into the Laser Radial or ILCA 6 class, also a single-handed small boat, but faster and more agile than the Optimist. From there she quickly became one of the top youth sailors in Canada. In 2010, an opportunity was presented to qualify Canada and represent the country at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. After coming second at the 2010 Youth Nationals, Sarah lost the love of competing and decided to coach youth athletes at Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club for two summers. By 2014, her dream to compete at the Olympics was awoken by a Canadian medalist who inspired Sarah to get back into the game and pursue her goal of winning an Olympic medal. Having completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management at the University of Guelph in 2017 and is sailing full time. Sarah won the 2019 Pan Am Games Gold medal and finished a historic 6th place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Now Sarah is hungrier than ever to step onto the podium in Paris 2024.

Sarah’s website
Sarah on Twitter, Instagram
Sarah’s boat ILCA6
SailGP
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Keep The Flame Alive podcast
Allison Jolly
Lynne Jewell
Hélène de Pourtalès