North Cook News

Wilmette native Maggie Shea and longtime best friend and sailing partner Stephanie Roble are still alive in the race for gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

After two days of racing and with several races still remaining, the pair stood in eighth place in the 49er FX skiff class, leaving them still within reach of the medal they seek and have toiled long and hard to earn.

“Even though we’re genuinely great friends and we enjoy spending time together, we still have to work really hard on our team dynamic,” Shea told the Chicago Tribune prior to arriving in Japan. “It’s a skill set we need to work on just as much as our boat handling and fitness.”

None of it has come easy, with the pair at one time or another turning to a sport psychologist in hopes of keeping a handle on such fronts as stress management, mental toughness and their overall relationship. The two are also business associates with part of their responsibilities involve raising money for their sailing expenses, then making decisions about how to best make use of it.

A 2007 grad of New Trier High, Shea concedes it’s a lot to deal with even for friends on the level that she and Roble are.

“We compartmentalize our relationship,” she said. “We’re very conscious of Steph and Maggie as friends, Steph and Maggie as business partners and Steph and Maggie as teammates. Sometimes, what would be best for our performance on the water is not necessarily how I’d treat Steph, my best friend.”

Shea said it helps that both of them are from the Midwest and share many of the same values.

“We both like spending time with our families, nesting and baking,” she added. “I’m not saying these are strictly Midwestern things, but we both appreciate some good sweet corn and some Culver’s when we’re home. It’s really cool to share this journey together. We trust each other and we have fun together.”

In Tokyo, the two were set to return to the water over the weekend at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour. The medal race is set to take place on Monday.

Since 2017, the pair has been coached by four-time Olympian Giulia Conti and the trio is hoping all that growing familiarity will now pay dividends. Contil won gold and bronze medals in the 2015 and 2016 world championships.

Shea got her start in the water sailing on Lake Michigan on the boat of her grandfather, John Nedau, a member of the Lake Michigan Sailing Hall of Fame.