Sailing 2024 Paris Olympics Review

Men’s IQ Foil

Nicolas Goyard (France) won the opening race of the regatta. Day two featured five races, with Luuc van Opzeeland (Netherlands) taking two races and Pawel Tarnowski (Poland) also impressing. On day three, Sebastian Kordel (Germany) claimed two wins but his earlier poor results put left him out of contention. Grae Morris (Australia) had a win and two seconds as well. The final day saw Nicolo Renna (Italy) be most consistent but it was Morris who took the overall win. That gave him a bye to the medal race. Van Opzeeland won both the quarter and semi finals to make the medal race with Tom Reuveny (Israel) finishing second in the semi after his quarter final bye. Despite not winning a single race during the regatta, Reuveny picked his time perfectly, winning the gold medal race.

🥇Tom Reuveny 🇮🇱

🥈Grae Morris 🇦🇺

🥉Luuc van Opzeeland 🇳🇱

Prediction analysis; 1 medalist correct

Goyard never really got into the race after the first race. I mentioned the podium finishers as part of the top seven but went for the wrong options. 

Men’s Laser 

Stefano Peschiera (Peru) led after day one before Lorenzo Chiavarini (Italy) posted the best scores on day two. Day three belonged to Matthew Wearn (Australia) with a first and second-place finish. Day four again saw inconsistent performances, with Herman Tomasgaard (Norway) going strongest. Heading into the medal race, Wearn had a 14 point lead over Pavlos Kontides (Cyprus). He sealed gold by winning the race. Peschiera hung onto bronze despite a ninth placed finish in the medal race. 

🥇Matthew Wearn 🇦🇺

🥈Pavlos Kontides 🇨🇾

🥉Stefano Peschiera 🇵🇪

Prediction analysis; 2 Medallists correct, 1 perfect prediction 

I thought Wearn would get a hard fought victory from Beckett but Wearn won quite comfortably. Beckett was in the race for bronze but had a poor medal race. 

Men’s Kiteboarding 

The initial series focused on securing a bye to the final. Toni Vodisek (Slovenia) led the way on day one, with Riccardo Pianosi (Italy) claiming the sole race on day two. Markus Edgeran (United States) moved into contention with a strong day three. Light winds, limited the schedule to just seven races instead of sixteen. Vodisek led the overall standings from Maximilian Maeder (Singapore). Pianosi and Valentin Bontus (Austria) came through in the semi final. Bontus won three consecutive races in the final series to win gold.

🥇Valentin Bontus 🇦🇹

🥈Toni Vodisek 🇸🇮

🥉Maximilian Maeder 🇸🇬

Prediction analysis; 1 Medalists correct 

The format lends itself to an outsider and all were mentioned as part of the six likely medalists. Unfortunately I went for the wrong choices with Bainbridge and Mazella missing the medal race. 

Men’s 49er 

McHardie/McKenzie (New Zealand) won the opening race and led at the end of the opening day. They extended their advantage with two race wins on day two. Day three saw Botin/Trittel (Spain) begin to fight back, while Fantela/Fantela (Croatia) posted the best score on day four to make the final. Spain led Dickson/Waddilove (Ireland) entering the medal race and sealed gold with a race win. The Irish pair only finished ninth and would miss out on a medal. 

🥇Diego Botin/Florian Trittel 🇪🇸

🥈Isaac McHardie/William McKenzie 🇳🇿

🥉Ian Barrows/Hans Henken 🇺🇸

Prediction analysis; 1 medalist correct: The Dutch pair not medalling was a massive surprise. I thought France would be stronger, especially at home but sailing is potentially a sport where the fans don't make much of a difference.

Women’s IQ Foil 

Emma Wilson (Great Britain) was utterly dominant in the race series of the event. She only finished outside the top three once and won eight races. Sharon Kantor (Israel) placed second, taking three race wins while Marta Maggetti (Italy) was third despite not winning a race. Yan Zheng (China) won the quarter final and it was Kantor took the semi final. In the final, Wilson took early control but a layline error allowed her rivals to pass. It was Maggetti who took her first race win and the gold. Wilson later criticised the format.

🥇Marta Maggetti 🇮🇹

🥈Sharon Kantor 🇮🇱

🥉Emma Wilson 🇬🇧

Prediction analysis; 2 Medalists correct, 1 perfect prediction 

Again, the format lends itself to surprises. Wilson was the dominant sailor but couldn’t produce in the medal races. I mentioned Maggetti as a possible danger. 

Women’s Laser Radial 

Marit Bouwmeester (Netherlands) established herself as the dominant sailor, finishing no lower than fourth in the first seven races and securing gold before the medal race. Anne-Marie Rindom (Denmark) also managed to seal the silver medal before the medal race. Line Flem Host (Norway) took bronze, with two second places and two thirds. 

🥇Marit Bouwmeester 🇳🇱

🥈Anne Marie Rindom 🇩🇰

🥉Line Flem Host 🇳🇴

Prediction analysis; 2 Medalists correct, 2 perfect prediction 

I got the two top correct. Host wasn’t someone I suggested could get onto the podium 

Women’s Kiteboarding 

The regatta was thrown into chaos as inadequate wind meant only six races were completed instead of sixteen. Eleanor Aldridge (Great Britain) and Lauriane Nolot (France) topped the standings with 12 points. Daniela Moroz (United States) and Annelous Lammerts (Netherlands) both advanced to the final, by winning their semi-finals in a single race. In the final, Aldridge claimed the first race, then executed a brilliant tack in the second race to get in front and take gold.

🥇Eleanor Aldridge 🇬🇧

🥈Lauriane Nolot 🇫🇷

🥉Annelous Lammerts 🇳🇱

Prediction analysis; 2 Medalists correct

My three medalist predictions all made the final four but Lammerts was able to get ahead of Moroz to get the final medal position. 

Women’s 49er FX

Van Aanholt/Duetz (Netherlands) opened with two wins on day one but Steyaert/Picon (France) were the most consistent with three second place finishes. Germani/Bertuzzi (Italy) were the strongest team on day two. Aleh/Meech (New Zealand) surged back into contention after an awful start with finishes of third, second and first on day three. Bobeck/Netzler (Sweden) claimed two race wins on day four. The French pair led entering the medal race, just one point ahead of the Netherlands. The medal race was won by the Swedes, clearly entering top form towards the end of the race. Netherlands were able to take third, enough to take gold as France could only finish sixth. 

🥇Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz 🇳🇱

🥈Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler 🇸🇪

🥉Sarah Steyaert/Charline Picon 🇫🇷

Prediction analysis; 2 Medalist correct, 2 perfect prediction 

I got the two top correct. Brazil didn’t really compete after a poor start whilst the French team were not on my radar. 

Mixed 470

Okada/Yoshioka (Japan) took an early lead on day one of racing. Dahlberg/Karlsson (Sweden) had the best of day two with a first and second despite Vadlau/Mahr (Austria) posting a first and a third. Costa/Joao (Portugal) had the best of day three. The Austrians went into the lead at the end of day four after a strong performance. In the medal race, they finished seventh, but with Japan only managed to finish third despite an early lead, it was enough for Austria to take gold. Xammar/Brugman (Spain) slipped from second to fourth overall with a ninth placed finish. 

🥇Lara Vadlau/Lukas Mahr 🇦🇹

🥈Keiju Okada/Miho Yoshioka 🇯🇵

🥉Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson 🇸🇪

Prediction analysis; 1 Medalist correct, 1 perfect prediction 

I was surprised by the struggles of Spain as well as the performances of the Austrian and Swedish boats. 

Mixed Nacra17

Tita/Banti (Italy) dominated the regatta, winning six races and finishing second in the opening seven races. Majdalani/Bosco (Argentina) entered the medal race in second with five seconds and a race win. Behind them, Gimson/Burnet (Great Britain) and Wilkinson/Dawson (New Zealand) entered the medal race tied for bronze. British hopes ended abruptly as they were ruled to be over the line at the start, eliminating them from the race. 

🥇Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti 🇮🇹

🥈Mateo Majdalani/Eugenia Bosco 🇦🇷

🥉Micah Wilkinson/Erica Dawson 🇳🇿

Prediction analysis; 1 Medalist correct

I favoured the Italians. I did think the British pair would compete and do think they would have got a medal if they managed to complete the medal race. Finland never really got involved whilst I did mention New Zealand as a danger.