Sailor Maggie Shea ’11 will return to the Olympic Games

Maggie Shea ’11, who finished 11th in the Women’s Skiff – 49erFX at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, will represent the United States once again at the 2024 Games in Paris this summer.

Shea and her longtime skipper Stephanie Roble officially qualified for the U.S. Olympic team April 6 based on their finishing positions in the 49erFX World Championship in Lanzarote, Spain, in March and the Trofeo Princesa Sofía this week in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, earlier this month, according to US Sailing.

“I’m so honored for the opportunity to represent Team USA and compete on the U.S. Olympic team, and there were so many people who made it possible for us to get to this point,” Shea said. “I’m grateful and excited for a second chance to deliver our best performance on the Olympic stage. We’ve learned so much in the last three years since Tokyo and in our eight years sailing the FX together. It’s rare that you get a second crack at things in life and I’m really thankful for that chance.”

Shea grew up sailing with her family on Lake Michigan on her grandfather’s boat Windancer, and quickly fell in love with being on the water and competing. She later joined Chicago Yacht Club’s junior sailing program and raced 420s and Laser Radials in high school. At Connecticut College, Shea served as a team captain, skipper and crew, leading the Women’s Sailing team to a second-place finish at the 2011 ICSA Women’s Nationals and a fourth-place finish at the 2009 Women’s Singlehanded Nationals. She was recognized as an All-American Honorable Mention and NEISA Sportswoman of the Year, and received the Connecticut College Brooks-Brown Award for outstanding leadership, scholarship and sportsmanship.

Shea has been racing the 49erFX since 2013 with various teammates, but she and Roble have been on the 49erFX campaign trail together since 2016. They won the U.S. Olympic Trials in February 2020 and finished 11th in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

In 2020, Shea was elected by her teammates to be the sailing representative for the USOPC Athletes Advisory Council. She also serves as a director on the Board of Directors of US Sailing, and is a member of the Sailor Athlete Council.

During the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the Women’s Skiff – 49erFX races are scheduled to begin Sunday, July 28, on the waters of Marseille, with the medal race schedule for Thursday, Aug. 1. Each day of Olympic sailing competition starts at 5 a.m. ET and is scheduled to conclude at 1 p.m. ET.