Nova Scotia Olympian sisters making waves on journey to 2028 L.A. Games

A pair of Olympian sisters from Nova Scotia who competed in sailing together at last year's Summer Games in Paris are making waves on the international stage again. 

Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance are briefly back on home soil after winning a bronze medal last month at the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, France. 

The sisters, who are from Chester, N.S., said they're happy with the podium finish, but they feel they're still shaking off some rust after a short break from being on the water.

"Our focus and goal is to be on the podium at the Olympics. So yes, it's a nice feeling, but at the same time we have a lot of work to do," Antonia, 27, said in an interview. 

The duo is trying to get in form to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

They said it's still early in the four-year training cycle between Summer Games, so at this point they are just trying to continue to get better.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't mean a lot to us other than like a pat on the back," Georgia, 25, said. "We really just need to keep pushing and keep building our foundation."

'That experience is everything to us'

The sisters made their Olympic debut at the Paris Summer Games last year. They finished 11th in the women's 49er FX event. 

Sailing is a sport that requires a lot of experience to be successful, Georgia said, so it was a major step for them to compete on the biggest international stage.

"Most of the people who have medals have been to two to three Olympic Games before, so that experience is everything to us," she said.

Both sisters said representing their country is a big honour for them.

Antonia said she still gets emotional thinking about the first time they launched their sailboat into the water with their Olympic gear on while thousands of people cheered.

The siblings said travelling around the world has shown them how other people perceive Canada and it's made them appreciate the opportunity to represent their country even more.

"Canada has this reputation across the world for being quite a phenomenal country and a country with really strong morals and values. So, I'm personally very, very proud to be representing Canada," said Antonia.

Antonia and Georgia are leaving for Thessaloniki, Greece, this week to represent their country again at the 2025 European Championship, which starts the first week of June.