Jory heads Olympic celebration in Southampton

Thursday 21 August 2008

#77 Lucas Oil's Shelley Jory celebrates her second place in the Italian Endurance race

Powerboat P1 racer Shelley Jory will help Southampton to celebrate the end of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and the handover of the Olympic flag to the 2012 Olympic Games organisers in London on August 24.

Southampton and powerboating have a long Olympic connection, with the city having hosted the first – and so far only – Olympic motorboating events as part of London’s hosting of the Olympic Games in 1908. Southampton is also twinned with Qingdao, this year’s Olympic sailing venue.

Jory – who will have taken part in the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race on August 23 in GEE, a boat in the classic class – will once again take the helm of the 40-foot hull for the flag ceremony on Sunday, August 24, starting the journey of a special 2012 flag across Southampton from the waterfront to the Civic Centre.

She'll be back in the pilots' seat of the #77 Lucas Oil Evolution class boat for the next round of the Powerboat P1 championship in Spain on September 12-14.

 “I love all sport, so to be asked to start this special ceremony is amazing,” Jory said. “Although powerboating is no longer a sport at the Olympic Games, I still think of myself as flying the flag for Britain when I race in Powerboat P1, and I’m so proud of all our Olympic sportsmen and sportswomen.”