Olympic gold for engineering student
Jo Aleh and her partner Olivia Powrie won the gold medal in the 470 sailing class in one of the final events of the London Olympics. The pair went into the final race equal with the British team on points. They secured the gold emphatically by winning the final race with the British entry finishing ninth.
Jo and Olivia were in the silver medal position in the early stages but moved up one place after winning races seven and eight.
Jo told the NZ Herald that winning gold is taking a while to sink in. " "It's going to take a few days. We've tried to treat this like any other regatta, because it's a lot easier to separate ourselves from all the pressure and the hype, and it still seems like just another regatta so far. I don't know how to switch it off. I'm having a few issues with that but I'm sure it will sink in.''
Flexible study
Professor Thomas Neitzert from the School of Engineering is not surprised by Jo’s success in the sporting domain. “She is a very determined young lady and a natural leader,” he says.
“She just gets on with things and in doing so she takes people with her.”
Professor Neitzert has facilitated Jo’s education programme which allows her to study and compete at the highest level. “It’s so pleasing that we can accommodate someone like Jo who is pursuing a professional career outside of the sporting domain.”