Olympia's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Rowing
Event: Women's Sweep Squad
Olympic History: Rio 2016; Tokyo 2020
Coach: Tom Westgarth and John Keogh (Head Coach)
Year Born: 1992
State Born: Rose Park, SA
About Olympia
After a chaotic Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Olympia Aldersey entered Tokyo 2020 a much more relaxed figure.
Born during the Opening Ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Games, her parents called her Olympia and she would eventually begin rowing as an opportunity to find Olympic competition.
Aldersey first marked her international rowing career beside teammate Emma Basher with a silver medal at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Two years later, Aldersey was crowned U23 Women’s Quad Sculls World Champion, accomplishing this feat many years before her 23rd birthday.
It wasn’t for four years after her U23 victory that Aldersey’s Olympic dream was to be realised.
Aldersey’s Women’s Eight crew were notified of their inclusion in the Rio Games just a fortnight before competition was to commence, marking the beginning of a frenzied period of preparation that would be closed by the South Australian’s first taste of Olympic action.
In Brazil, the crew’s rushed training marked a failure to qualify for the A-final, with Aldersey part of a Women’s Eight boat finishing fifth in its heat.
One year after an inaugural Olympic campaign, Aldersey joined Rowing Australia’s National Training Centre in Sydney. On the banks of the Nepean River, the 28-year-old immersed herself in the nation’s top competitive environment and culture, while being overseen by world-leading coaches in John Keogh, Tom Westgarth and Ellen Randell.
Under the National Training Centre infrastructure, Aldersey collected bronze at the 2017 World Championships Double Sculls alongside teammate Maddie Edmunds.
In 2019, Aldersey transitioned to sweep rowing after spending much of her professional career sculling. The switch proved immediately fruitful, with podium finishes at two World Rowing Cups preceding her victory at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in the Women’s Four.
As a member of the Australian Women's Eight, Aldersey entered Tokyo with experience and understanding of the Olympic competition.
The Australian crew qualified for the Tokyo Final via the repechage after finishing third in their heat behind the USA and Romania. Their position in the Final secured after a fourth place finish in the repechage.
The crew looked to finish their Games regatta on a high and started fast in the Final setting a strong pace and rhythm to keep up with the Canadian boat who took an early lead. Placed second after the first 500-metres and only 0.66 seconds off the pace, the Australians fought hard to hold their position, but the opposition were too strong and after fading in the second half of the race, the Australians finished fifth overall. It equalled the best ever result by an Australian Women's Eight at the Olympic Games.
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