Olympic sailing hopefuls head to Hyères

For the first time in France, all 10 sailing events in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be together on the Hyères field of play when the 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères – Toulon Provence Méditerranée gets underway on 23 April 2022.

Over the week-long competition, the Olympic sailing elite will congregate in Hyères, on the French Côte d’Azur, for one of the most anticipated events of the season. In total, 650 sailors from more than 50 countries, including the world’s best Olympic sailors, will make the Hyères event an exceptional edition. After the Hempel Sailing World Cup Series at the 51 Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Palma, Mallorca, at the beginning of April, Hyères is the second major event on the Olympic calendar.

“For the first time, the 10 classes competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be in Hyères,” Jean-Luc Denéchau, President of the French Sailing Federation, said. “This field of play, renowned for being as technical as it is tactical, also has the privilege of being surrounded by the aptly-named ‘golden islands’. For the competitors, for all those involved in this great competition, for the partners: the city of Hyères and TPM, and of course for our Federation, this ‘comeback’ edition of the SOF is a pleasure even more heartfelt following, as it does, two difficult years.”

The 10 Olympic classes: iQFOiL (windsurfing, men and women), Formula Kite (kite, men and women), ILCA (dinghy, women and men), 49er (skiff, men and women), Nacra 17 (multihull, mixed) and 470 (dinghy, mixed) will compete on the Hyérois field of play, which provides a technical and tactical challenge, and is renowned for its often-strong easterly winds.

An historic and unmissable part of the Olympic circuit, the Semaine Olympique Française is recognised as the best event for preparing sailors for the next Olympic Games. The race programme and the restricted entry allows the best sailors in each class to measure themselves against their peers in a format similar to the one that will be used at the Olympic Games.

Several gold medallists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last summer will be competing in Hyères, including Australia’s Matt Wearn (men’s ILCA 7), Italy’s Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti (mixed Nacra 17), Brazil’s Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze (women’s 49er) and Britain’s Eilidh McIntyre with new partner Martin Wringley (mixed 470).

For France, the world champions of iQFOiL, Hélène Noesmoen and Nicolas Goyard will be competing in women’s and men’s in Hyères respectively. Goyard will be up against his brother Thomas, silver medallist in RS:X in Tokyo 2020, and Pierre Le Coq, bronze medallist in RS: X in Rio 2016. In Kite, the field includes the world champion, Théo de Ramecourt; the European champion, Axel Mazella; and Lauriane Nolot (3rd in the World Championship). Gold medallist at Rio 2016 and silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, Charline Picon, returns and will partner with Sarah Steyaert for the first time in competition in France in the 49erFX. Bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020 in the 470, Aloïse Retornaz will form a new mixed duet with Kevin Peponnet.

In solidarity with sailors from Ukraine, the organisers of the Semaine Olympique Française have taken the decision to invite and take care of the accommodation of the entire Ukrainian delegation for the duration of the event.

Image courtesy of US Sailing.