Jo Aleh

Jo Aleh
MNZM

Aleh in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Joanna Ayela Aleh
Nickname(s)	Kesem Shukrun [1] Jox [2]
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(1986-05-15) 15 May 1986 (age 38) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [3]
Weight	127 lb (58 kg) [3]
Sailing career
Class	470
Club	RNZYS, Takapuna Boating Club, Auckland, New Zealand [2]
Coach	Nathan Handley [2]
Medal record Women's Sailing Representing   New Zealand Olympic Games 2012 London 470 class 2016 Rio de Janeiro 470 class World Championships 2007 Auckland 420 class 2013 La Rochelle 470 class 2010 The Hague 470 class 2014 Santander 470 class 2016 San Isidro 470 class 2011 Perth 470 class

Joanna Ayela Aleh MNZM (born 15 May 1986) is a New Zealand sailor. ^{[2] [4]} She is a national champion, a former world champion, and an Olympic gold medallist.

Contents

• Early and personal life
• Sailing career
• See also
• References
• External links

Aleh competes in the two-woman 470 dinghy, a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centreboard, Bermuda rig, centre sheeting and length overall of 4.70 metres. ^[2]

Early and personal life

Aleh is Jewish, ^{[5] [6]} and was born in Auckland, daughter of Israeli father Shuki Shukrun and British-born mother Daniella Aleh, a former Israeli soldier. ^{[3] [4]} She lives in Auckland where she began a degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Auckland. When her sailing commitments increased, she moved to AUT to continue her engineering degree, and later began studying a Bachelor of Information Science at Massey University extramurally. ^[2] Her Israeli name is Kesem Shukrun, and she had a Bat Mitzvah in Be'er Sheva. ^[1] She is a member of Beth Shalom, a Progressive Jewish congregation in Auckland. ^[7]

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Aleh was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sailing. ^[8]

Sailing career

Just before her ninth birthday, Aleh was impressed by the New Zealand victory in the 1995 America's Cup, and asked her father if she could learn to sail. She did a learn to sail course at the Ponsonby Cruising Club and with the help of her extended family a small sailing dinghy was purchased. She began her competitive career at the age of 11 in an Optimist. ^[2] Her first competition event was the Auckland Anniversary Regatta, for Kohimarama YC, in 1998. ^[2]

She then made sailing history as the first female to win the Tanner Cup since its inception in 1945. This highly contested interprovincial competition is sailed in P-class sailing dinghies.

She won the Auckland Optimist Girls' Championship in 2000, in Kohimarama YC. ^[2] Her first international competition was the 2002 Cork Regatta, in Kingston, Canada, in the Byte Class, where she won both the Youth and Open divisions, ^[2] then moved onto the youth classes (under 18) and competed at two ISAF Youth World Championships, finishing with a silver medal in her final year.

Aleh then began the road to Beijing, competing in the Laser Radial class (women's single handed class) with a string of successful results including a World Cup event win, and a silver medal at the Pre-Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China.

In 2007, she won the 420 World Championships at Takapuna, sailing with Olivia "Polly" Powrie. ^[2]

She then competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Women's one-person dinghy, coming seventh. ^[3]

Aleh and her sailing partner Olivia Polly Powrie won a silver medal in the 2010 470 World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, and a bronze medal in the 470 World Championships in the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth, Australia. She and Powrie finished fourth at the Barcelona World Championships in May 2012, won the women's 470 class in the World Cup in Weymouth, England, in June 2012, and are the current New Zealand 470 national champions. ^[4]

In August 2012 she and Powrie won the gold medal in the 470 class at the Olympic Games in Weymouth and Portland, England.

In August 2013, a year after winning their Olympic gold medal, Aleh and Powrie won the world title at the 2013 470 World Championships in La Rochelle, France. ^[9]

Aleh twice achieved world Number 1, in the Women's Laser Radial on 5 March 2008, and the Women's 470 in 2013. ^[2] Her coach since 2009 has been Nathan Handley. ^[2]

She is a life member of the Kohimarama Yacht Club, Takapuna Boating Club and Yachting New Zealand, and is a current member of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Aleh trialled with Team Brunel before the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race but was not selected and instead joined consultancy firm Ernst & Young. ^[10]

On 26 July 2024 Aleh was announced as a flag bearer for the New Zealand team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, along with Aaron Gate. ^[11]

See also

• List of select Jews in sailing

Related Research Articles

Jennifer Margaret Armstrong is an Olympic sailor from New Zealand. After competing for her native country at the 1992 Olympics, she moved to Australia in 1996 and won a historic sailing gold for her adopted country at the 2000 Olympics.

Thomas Mark Mikael Johanson is a Finnish sailor and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the 49er Class with Jyrki Järvi at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In 2008–2009, he was a crew member on yacht Ericsson 3 and in 2011–12 on yacht PUMA Ocean Racing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Kristine Roug is a Danish sailor and Olympic champion.

Janet Lee Shearer is a New Zealand sailor who competed for New Zealand at three Olympic Games and won a silver medal, with Leslie Egnot, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the women's 470 class.

Xu Lijia is a Chinese sailboat racer who won a bronze medal in women's Laser Radial class at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she was the flag bearer for China at the closing ceremony.

Peter Burling is a New Zealand sailor. He was the 2021 America's Cup winning skipper and helmsman, and the 2017 America's Cup winning helmsman of Team New Zealand. Burling won an Olympic gold medal in the 49er class at the 2016 games and silver medals in the 2012 and 2020 Olympics.

Udi Gal is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a sailing world championship three-time bronze medalist.

Gideon "Gidi" Kliger is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a three-time bronze medallist at the sailing world championships.

Vered Bouskila is an Israeli Olympic sailor. She competes in the 470 Class double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centerboard, Bermuda rig, and center sheeting. She won a world championship in the women's 420 at the age of 15, and a bronze medal in the world championships in the 470 six years later.

Mathew "Mat" Belcher, is an Australian sailor and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 470 dinghy, who currently competes with crew Will Ryan. In 2011, following World Championship and World Cup success, he and Malcolm Page were shortlisted by the International Sailing Federation for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards. Belcher was selected as the Australian flag bearer for the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics after winning a second gold medal and third successive medal in the 470 class.

Andrew Blair Tuke is a New Zealand sailor who won the 2021 Americas Cup Held in Auckland and also won the 2017 Version held in Bermuda. He also won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 49er class alongside Peter Burling.

Luke Patience is a British Olympic sailor. He competed with Stuart Bithell at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the team won a silver medal.

Olivia Elizabeth "Polly" Powrie is a New Zealand sailor. She has won Olympic and world championship titles in the 470 class, and is also a former 420 world champion.

Gil Cohen is an Israeli Olympic sports sailor. She competed in sailing in the Women's 470 with Vered Buskila in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and in the same event with Nina Amir in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

New Zealand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-third appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics, having made its debut at the 1920 Games and competed at every Games since. The New Zealand team consisted of 199 athletes, 100 women and 99 men, across twenty sports, the first time New Zealand was represented by more women than men at the Summer Olympics.

Mary Ellen Gaillard is an American competitive sailor who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Alexandra Maria Maloney is a New Zealand sailor.

Hélène Defrance is a French former sailor, who won a bronze medal in the women's 470 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also won the 2010 470 European Championships race, and the 2016 470 World Championships. Defrance is a knight of the Ordre national du Mérite.

Ralph Hamilton Roberts was a New Zealand sailor and sports administrator.

William Henry Mark Paterson was a New Zealand sailor. He finished fifth in the 470 event at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and won the Cherub World Championship in 1978.

References

External links

• Joanna Aleh at World Sailing
• Jo Aleh at the New Zealand Olympic Committee
• Jo Aleh at Olympics.com
• Jo Aleh at Olympic.org (archived)
• Jo Aleh at Olympedia