Australian Olympian Grae Morris has been called up to the Australian Olympic Team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The first male competitor chosen since Sydney 2000 in windsurfing and foil
Australian Surfer Grae Morris is Qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024
Grae Morris, a newcomer to the Olympics, and Matt Wearn, the defending champion, have been chosen to represent Australia in windsurfing at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
Australia has not had a male windsurfer compete at the Olympics since the 2000 Sydney Games, which took place many years ago. Now, after 23 years, Grae Morris has emerged as a strong contender for Australia in windsurfing.
In 2023, Grae Morris had an outstanding year on the international stage, his performance at the Olympic test event held in the waters off the French city of Marseille helped him secure a spot for Australia at the 2023 Sailing World Championships in The Hague.
“It truly takes a community to nurture an Olympian, and I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the athletes’ coaches, families, Australian Sailing, Australian and state institutes of sport, and everyone who has supported them on their journey to the Olympic Games. It was a childhood dream to participate in the Olympic Games, and to witness it finally materializing is extraordinary!”
Morris stated,
Grae Morris’s Early Years with His Family
Grae Morris was born on February 16th, 2004, in Sydney to his Kiwi (New Zealander) parents, Brett Morris and Grace Morris. Although he played as a fullback, he idolized rugby legends Richie McCaw, a renowned captain and open-side flanker, and Dan Carter, a champion fly-half.
From the tender age of just 3 months, Morris accompanied his father to all his national and international windsurfing events. His father, Brett Morris, was a national windsurfing champion and a skilled windsurfer.
Brett introduced his son to the sport at Rose Bay, Botany Bay, and during holidays at Tea Gardens, just north of Sydney, serving as his first coach. Morris’s mother, Grace, also supported him wholeheartedly in his journey to qualify for the Olympics.
Morris completed his high school education at the Cranbrook School in Sydney. He participated in a few local events, and the Australian sailing team recognized his potential. As a child, his dream was always to compete in the Olympics. At the young age of five, he became truly serious about windsurfing and has never looked back since.
Grae Morris is in a happy relationship with his girlfriend Dominique Stater
Grae Morris is in a happy relationship with his girlfriend, Dominique Stater, aged 23 years old. Dominique is also a talented windsurfer who has qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She graduated from the University of Miami.
Morris first shared a photograph with Stater on his Instagram and Facebook accounts on December 2, 2023.
Stater made her mark on the competitive windsurfing scene by representing Team USA in the Techno 293 class at the 2018 Youth Olympics, held on her childhood local grounds in Argentina. Over the next few years, Stater gained valuable experience in the RS:X Olympic class at the Youth World Championships in China and Poland.
By winning gold at the U.S. Open Miami event in January and securing first place for an American woman in February’s U.S. Open Clearwater regatta, Stater secured her spot to represent the United States at this year’s Pan American Games in Chile.
Grae Morris started his surfing career at the age of just 11 years
Grae Morris began his windsurfing career at the tender age of just 11 years old. Since then, he has participated in six different windsurfing classes.
Alongside windsurfing, Morris also excelled in rugby. He made it to the top teams for his club and school, ultimately playing in the prestigious First XV during his final year at Sydney’s Cranbrook School.
However, at the age of 18, he faced a difficult decision – to choose between the two sports. Ultimately, windsurfing emerged victorious, and he wholeheartedly dedicated himself to it after completing Year 12 at Cranbrook College, where he had played for the First XV rugby team.
To further improve and receive guidance on his windsurfing journey, Morris joined the Woollahra Sailing Club in Sydney as his senior club.
Grae Recent Years and Olympics
In 2023, Grae Morris had a breakthrough year on the international stage, achieving a string of outstanding results. He performed well at the Olympic test event held in the waters off the French city of Marseille, earning Australia a coveted spot for the Paris Olympics at the 2023 Sailing World Championships in The Hague.
At the age of 20, Morris narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing third in his semi-final and securing fourth place overall. A year later, at the 2024 World Championships in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Grae once again finished in fourth position.
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At the 2023 iQFOiL European Championships, Grae Morris secured the sixth position. He then finished ninth at the 2023 iQFOiL World Championships. Grae claimed the fourth spot at both the 2024 iQFOiL World Championships and the Paris Olympic Test Event.
Over the next four months, Morris will refine his skills with his Fremantle-based coach, Arthur Brett, until the Olympic selection is made in March. He will begin his preparations with Sail Sydney this weekend – a competition where Olympic spots are up for grabs for countries yet to qualify.
Grae Morris is an athlete who has qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris in the windsurfing category.
