Laura Gourley’s Olympic dream is even closer to becoming a reality after the Narrabri girl was included in Rowing Australia’s 2024 women’s quad scull squad that was announced on Sunday.
The 21-year-old was a member of the Women’s double scull team last year and helped Amanda Bateman qualify the boat into the Paris Olympics for their nation, but she is now a massive chance of competing in the quad scull on the grandest sporting stage after her latest selection.
Gourley told The Courier that she was looking forward to the challenge of competing in the quad arena this year and was proud to be included in the green and gold squad.
“I’m very excited,” she said.
“I was a bit nervous there for a little bit, but it was nice to know that I am back in the squad again.
“I think it’s going to be really good. Quad is different but it will keep me on my toes.”
Gourley has had a busy year so far in 2024 between taking part in an Aussie training block, domestic regattas, the 2024 NSW Rowing Championships, and most recently the national squad trials, and she is currently preparing for the Australian Rowing Championships that will be held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre later this month. She will line up in double and quad races at that event, and she has also been selected in the Rowing NSW Queen’s Cup team of eight to compete in the highly-anticipated interstate regatta.
The Paris Games will begin on July 26 this year, and prior to that, Gourley and her fellow Aussie squad members will travel to World Cup Two in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May, and then World Cup Three in Poznan, Poland, in June.
The Aussie Olympic squad will then be announced after World Cup Three when Gourley will find out if she will be the second Narrabri sportsperson to take part at the Paris Olympics later this year after boxer Shannan Davey qualified his way through to the Games in the 71kg men’s division by winning a gold medal at the 2023 Pacific Games at the Solomon Islands last year in December.
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