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ON COURSE FOR 2024 OLYMPICS
from All At Sea
by All At Sea
Britain’s elite sailors brought home five medals from the first Paris 2024 test event – a promising sign just one year out from next summer’s Games.
Four silver medals and one bronze were won as 14 of the country’s best dinghy, windsurf and kite racers took on the world’s best in Marseille, the host city for the Paris 2024 sailing competition.
Among those picking up silverware were Tokyo 2020 medallists Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet.
Emma Wilson scooped silver in the foiling iQFOiL class, due to make its Olympic debut next summer, while John Gimson and Anna Burnet (pictured) took bronze in the Nacra 17 multihull class.
Michael Beckett continued his run of form in the ILCA 7 dinghy class, formerly known as the Laser, narrowly missing the top spot in a final-race battle with Australian Olympic champion Matt Wearn.
Ellie Aldridge and Connor Bainbridge completed the podium line-up with silvers in the Formula Kite class, also new for Paris 2024.
The eight-day regatta was the first of four test events run by Paris 2024 organisers to fine-tune their processes – and for the athletes it was a dress rehearsal for the Games with only one entry per nation in each of the 10 classes. It was also a key performance indicator in the run-up to Paris, where Britain will aim to maintain its title as the world’s most successful Olympic sailing nation.
Mark Robinson, RYA performance director, said: “It has been a great event here in Marseille with a range of conditions to test all involved. With so many equipment changes and new sailors in this cycle it was important for us to equal the 2019 Test Event haul of five medals as a platform to springboard from for the games proper next year.”
In terms of total medals, Great Britain and France got five each, followed by The Netherlands (4) and Italy (3). However, Gold medals trump all, and France got the most with three.
The British team had little time to rest before heading to this month’s Sailing World Championships in The Hague, The Netherlands. More than 60 British Sailing Team athletes will be among 1,400 sailors from the across the globe expected to attend. The regatta is a once-a-cycle event where the world championship titles for all 10 Olympic classes are up for grabs at the same time. It is also the first opportunity for nations to qualify for a spot on the start line at the Olympics.
