Paris 2024: Five Things We Learned From The Olympic Regatta

Thanks a bunch, Wind Gods

For challenging conditions and lack of reliable sailing breeze, the Olympic Regatta in Marseille will most likely go down as one of the toughest in living memory. Along with the high temperatures, the lack of breeze put a huge strain on everyone – the sailors, coaches, race officials and volunteers. Yet despite all that, it’s hard to argue with who won the 30 medals across 10 events. Sailors, athletes who displayed huge resilience, dug deep and prevailed in the high heat and high pressure of Paris 2024.

New event winners – Mixed Dinghy and Kites 

The new events worked out well for the sailors and the sport. As Olympic equipment the 470 has been in the Games since Montreal 1976, but Paris 2024 is the first edition where men and women have raced in the same 470 together. Then there were the new foiling classes – the iQFOiL windsurfers and Formula Kite boards – which lit up the race track and achieved peak speeds never before seen in Olympic sailing competition. 

Fans in Marseille 

The fans in Marseille couldn’t get enough of the competition and the Olympic atmosphere. Every time the sailors headed out to racing or returned to the beach, the crowd was ready to give them a hero’s welcome. Team Mama – the two mothers Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon who won bronze in the Women’s Skiff – along with kite silver medallist Lauriane Nolot were the local favourites, although the Spanish contingent made a lot of noise when Diego Botin and Florian Trittel took gold in the Men’s Skiff.

The Netherlands tops the table with four

After showing signs of promise in the past two Olympic Regattas, The Netherlands finally becomes top sailing nation with two gold and two bronze, the only country to win four medals from 10 events. Next best were Italy and Austria with two gold medals apiece. 

All-time record breakers

Stefano Peschiera’s bronze was Peru’s first ever Olympic medal in sailing. Max Maeder, aged 17, won Singapore’s first ever sailing medal with bronze in Men’s Kiteboarding. Marit Bouwmeester’s gold in Women’s Dinghy makes her the most successful female sailor of all time, now with two golds, a silver and a bronze for the Dutch legend.

written by Andy Rice