Sarah Douglas has ended her Olympic sailing career. But new challenges await us, both on and off the water.
The 31-year-old athlete from Toronto, who now lives in New York, competed at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics in the ILCA 6 (laser radial therapy) class. Her sixth-place finish in Tokyo 2021 remains the best finish by a Canadian in an individual Olympic sailing event.
She was eighth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Her trophy case includes a gold medal from the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and a silver from the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Douglas has been named Sailor of the Year twice by Sail Canada (2019 and 2020-2021). She has received the Sail Canada Gallagher Skipper Athlete of the Year award six times (from 2018 to 2024), which recognizes athletes who have achieved “outstanding achievement in competition”, brought recognition to Canadian sailing and set an example of leadership and sportsmanship.
“Sarah Douglas perfectly embodies the spirit of sailing, demonstrating discipline and perseverance throughout her career,” Fiona Cochrane, chair of the board of directors of Sail Canada, said in a statement. “Sarah has also demonstrated the power of inclusivity, diversity and equality in our sport and she remains an icon for the next generation of sailors from all regions, backgrounds and backgrounds.”
After Paris and a break from hip surgery, Douglas began thinking about a third Olympics, but decided not to go ahead with the trip to Los Angeles in 2028.
“To get to the Olympics and get on the podium, you need a strong fire every day, which I no longer had,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s what made me give up Olympic sailing.”
But don't give up sailing.
Next September, Douglas will compete in the first New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship near Newport, Rhode Island. Douglas is assembling a Canadian crew of 10 women who will compete on the 37-foot IC37 keelboat against 20 international elite teams.
“New dynamics. A new challenge,” said Douglas, who will steer and captain the larger boat. “I'm very happy for the team.”
This is a far cry from the single-seat ILCA 6, which is 14 feet long.
“Going out on the sea with big waves and strong winds can sometimes be a little scary,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s also empowering and can be a lot of fun. At the end of the day, it’s just me in the boat, which I think has its pros and cons.”
At the Olympics, ILCA 6 races 45 yachts and is built on tactics and strategy. Competitors compete in 10 races, performing their worst times, and the top 10 sailors carry their points into the medal race, which is worth double the points and double the stress.
In Tokyo, Douglas entered the medal race in fourth place, but dropped two places. In Paris, she moved up from 10th place to eighth after finishing third in the medal race.
Douglas was born in Burlington, Ontario, and began sailing at the age of seven after her parents took the family to their native Barbados (her older brother Greg represented Barbados in sailing at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics).
Returning to Canada at the age of 14, she became an elite junior sailor and represented Canada at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. But Douglas took two years away from competition after finishing second at the 2010 Youth National Championships, leading until the final day.
“I just became too competitive when it came to sailing. That second place broke me,” she said.
She spent two summers coaching young sailors at the Ashbridge Bay Yacht Club. But at 18 she rediscovered her passion for competition after hearing Olympic trampoline champion Rosie McLennan perform.
Douglas says she completely changed her mindset when she returned to the sport.
“It was less about the outcome and more about the journey. And that’s what Rosie really talked about,” she said.
McLennan became a mentor. And her message stuck.
“I am so proud of my journey and who I have become in this process, beyond all the medals and accomplishments,” Douglas said. “The person you become in pursuit of your Olympic dream, the skills you learn, the people you work with. I think that’s what I’m most proud of when I look back 10 years ago.”
He captured the village. Douglas will always be grateful to the Ashbridge Bay Yacht Club, which helped raise more than $300,000 to fund her sailing exploits.
Douglas met her husband Lance Fraser at a regatta when they competed against each other as children. The day before their wedding this summer in Toronto, the couple took part in a regatta with some of their guests.
Douglas plans to continue serving as a sports director on the Sail Canada board of directors while pursuing a career in sports marketing.
WATCH: A Day on the Water with Sarah Douglas:
Two weeks before the Olympics, CBC spent a stormy day on Lake Ontario with Sarah Douglas as she went through training.
