WA Sports Star Finalists: Zac Littlewood back among State’s best athletes on road to 2028 Olympics

History is repeating itself for Fremantle sailor Zac Littlewood as he adds a West Australian Sports Star Finalist nomination to his burgeoning resume on the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. However, it’s not even the highest praise the young gun has received to start this year, as he opened up about competing alongside dual Olympic gold medallist and fellow West Aussie Matt Wearn. The one-design, single-handed racing dinghy (ILCA, formerly known as Laser) skipper from Fremantle is deep into training ahead of the 2027 Olympic qualification season with a team that has produced champion sailors such as Tom Slingsby and Tom Burton as well as Wearn. And 30-year-old Wearn has just returned to the team in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of Dawn Fraser and win three gold medals in three successive Olympics, with Littlewood telling The West Australian it was a huge boost for his chances as well. “Australia and my class is hotly contested and it will be a nice challenge for myself to get to LA,” Littlewood said. “I think when you have anyone, especially a double Olympic gold medallist, come back into your training environment, the level increases. “Everyone in the squad lifts, and so it’s been a great training environment. If you look back at the history of our class, we’ve always had someone like Matt, Tom Burton and Tom Slingsby helping push everyone. “So, history is repeating itself with the calibre of talent we have.” Last month, Wearn singled out Littlewood for high praise, saying he was one of the sailors who could stand in his way of the history books. “It was really tough to keep pushing myself for Paris. Whereas this time, we’ve got at least two other guys that I can name. Zac Littlewood and Ethan McAullay, who are both Perth boys, along with Michael Compton,” Wearn told The West Australian. This is not the first time Littlewood has featured at the WA Sports Awards, having won the junior award in 2019. And after a sensational 2025 that saw him claim his maiden podium at a senior world championship as well as a national title, the 25-year-old is back among the ranks of WA’s best athletes. “I won the junior award six or seven years ago, and that was quite a surreal moment for me,” he told The West Australian. “So to get finalist for the senior was quite a nice feeling. The awards are just acknowledgment, and you’ve got to keep pushing on.” Littlewood said his bronze medal at the world championships in Qingdao, China, where he overcame wild weather that forced a six-day regatta to be reduced to a two-day shootout, was his fondest achievement to date. “Getting my first podium at a senior world championship in China (was great),” he said. “The senior world championship is Olympic-class level. So, my first podium at that type of level was quite great, and I won the national championships earlier in the year.”