Canada's Lewin-LaFrance sisters qualify to be nominated for Olympics in 49er FX sailing class

Canadian sailing sisters Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance qualified to be nominated for next summer's Paris Olympics in the 49er FX class on Sunday, bringing them a step closer to their Games debuts.

The duo from Chester, N.S., finished second in Sunday's final race at the 49er and 49er FX World Championships in Lanzarote, Spain, moving them into eighth place overall.

The Canadians climbed from 16th to 10th overall in the preliminary races to qualify for the final.

"We knew that eighth, the place we needed to make in order to automatically qualify ourselves for the Olympics, was within reach," Antonia said. "In the medal race, we wanted to just sail the best we could. When we crossed the finish line in second, the reality of it hit us: we had just earned ourselves a ticket to Paris."

The sailing competitions in Paris run July 28 to Aug. 8 at the Marseille Marina.

That feeling of taking the 8th spot overall at the 2024 49er and 49erFX World Championships, the 2nd spot in the Medal Race, and leading the Canadian Olympic qualifications in 49erFX.<br><br>Congratulations to Antonia &amp; Georgia Lewin-Lafrance! <a href="https://t.co/cG98cw8EUJ">pic.twitter.com/cG98cw8EUJ</a>