Scholarships
Loane Russet OLY and Léo Lebot (2025 Pacific Games)
Loane Russet OLY and Léo Lebot (2026 Oceania Championships)
14 July 2026
Vanuatu Aquatics Federation (VAF) is celebrating two years to go until the Los Angeles 2028
(LA28) Olympic Games, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Solidarity
scholarships for athletes Loane Russet OLY and Léo Lebot, awarded back in 2025. The Los
Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will begin on 14 th July 2028 and conclude on 30 th July 2028.
The Olympic Solidarity scholarships provide financial support for training at home or in high-
performance centres worldwide, as well as coaching, equipment and competition costs.
Since 2000, more than 12,000 athletes worldwide have benefited from the program. This is
the first time Vanuatu Aquatics Federation athletes have been awarded this prestigious
scholarship.
Loane Russet OLY commented ‘We’re very thankful to be part of this journey and we’re
looking forward to LA28 every single day. Holding this scholarship motivates us and pushes
us to be the best swimmers we can be. Thanks to this scholarship, Léo and I get to
experience what it is like to be a professional athlete and provides all the things we need in
training, recovery, nutrition and competition that we could only dream of, growing up in a
small-island nation.’
Loane Russet OLY will be looking to go to her second Olympic Games, making her debut at
Paris 2024 alongside Johnathan Silas OLY as the first Olympic swimmers from Vanuatu.
Loane has competed at multiple World Championships (2023, 2024 and 2025), Oceania
Championships (2024 and 2026) and Pacific Games (2025). Léo Lebot will be looking to
make his first Olympic Games, after bursting on to the scene at the 2023 Youth
Commonwealth Games. He has gone on to represent Vanuatu at the Pacific Games (2023
and 2025), Oceania Championships (2024 and 2026) and the World Championships (2024
and 2025). Both Loane and Léo have qualified for the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth
Games in Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom).
Léo Lebot added ‘Loane and I would like to thank the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
and the Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) for
providing these scholarships and their ongoing support to us. We couldn’t chase our
childhood dreams, both in and out of the pool, have so many wonderful opportunities and be
the best athletes we can be without these scholarships, and the wider support we receive,
including from Vanuatu Aquatics Federation.’
Both Loane and Léo train in Brisbane, Australia under Vanuatu National Head Coach
Lachlan Milner at Brisbane Boys’ College. The talented student athletes are also juggling
their out of pool ambitions, with Loane studying to be a Physiotherapist at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Léo training to be an airplane pilot at Airways Aviation Australia.