Emma Wilson of Great Britain
Emma Wilson of Great Britain (Photo by World Sailing / Lloyd Images)

Olympic Sailing 2024: Great Britain’s Wilson guaranteed a medal after topping Women’s Windsurfing rankings

Great Britain’s Emma Wilson secured a medal in the Women’s Windsurfing by topping the rankings at the end of the Opening Series.

Wilson had another productive day on the water, starting off with a win which ultimately put her 31 points clear of the competition.

For topping the standings, Wilson automatically qualified for the Final that will determine which colour medal she gets.

Trailing behind the Brit was Israel’s Sharon Kantor, who managed to place second in race 13 today. Kantor will progress directly to the Semi-Final race, alongside Italy’s Marta Maggetti, who finished 21 points off Kantor.

The remaining athletes that finished between fourth and tenth will head into the Quarter-Final race that will open the windsurfing action tomorrow.

Wilson said: “”It’s really cool to be guaranteed a medal for tomorrow. It’s the best we can get in this format so I’m really happy.

“I just took it race by race and believed in my training that I’ve done all year, for the last three years. Just to perform how I’ve done this week at the Olympics is pretty cool.

“I don’t approach tomorrow differently. I go have food and physio and come back tomorrow like I have all week.”

Kantor said: “I still have tomorrow to race, which is a big day. I will continue being with my team, eat, drink, sleep. I’m just waiting for tomorrow.

“We had to wait for the wind. We were next to the island, we did one race and then the wind just dropped. We then found some wind, but it was gusty and tricky. It was a long day, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”

How it works:

Medals for the windsurfing (iQFOiL) will be decided by the cumulative results of the 24 athletes over 20 races. The athlete with the lowest total will rank first.

There are three race formats – the Marathon Race, Slalom and Course Racing. Because it’s a longer 60-minute race, the Marathon will be scored as two races. Athletes will be able to discard their worst three finishing positions after they’ve completed 16 or more races.

At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten athletes will qualify for the Medal Series. Those ranked fourth to tenth compete in a Quarter-Final, with the top two reaching the Semi-Final.

They will then face the athletes that finished second and third in the Opening Series. Two will progress from the Semi-Final, joining the top overall athlete in the Final.

The three athletes in the Final are all guaranteed a medal, so the finishing order in the Final race will determine who wins what medal.