Here’s all you need to know about sailing at Paris 2024.
Sailing schedule and venue at Paris 2024
Sailing will take place more than 400 miles south of Paris in the city of Marseille. The revamped Roucas-Blanc Marina, renamed Marseille Marina for the Games, offers ideal conditions, with relatively constant and suitable winds, along with good spectating positions for up to 14,000 fans.
The events will run from 28 July to 8 August.
There are 10 medal events – skiff (men and women), windsurfing (men’s and women), dinghy (men, women and mixed), multihull (mixed) and kite (men and women).
Medal race schedule:
1 August – men’s skiff (49er) and women’s skiff (49erFX)
2 August – men’s and women’s windsurfing (iQFOiL)
6 August – men’s dinghy (ILCA 7) and women’s dinghy (ILCA 6)
7 August – mixed multihull (Nacra 17)
7 August – mixed dinghy (470)
8 August – men’s and women’s kite (Formula Kite Class).
Scoring and rules in sailing
Sailing has ushered in winds of change, with boat classes overhauled to ensure gender balance and to make the sport more spectacular. Competitors sail in an opening series of races, accruing points equivalent to where they finish each time (eg. one point for first); points for their worst race are discarded at various intervals. The top 10 boats then compete in a medal race, or medal series, with double points awarded and added to their total.
Since the Tokyo Games, some changes have been made. The Finn, won by a Brit at the last six Olympics, has gone, the two 470 classes have been merged into a mixed event and there are two high-speed newcomers: kiteboarding and also windsurfing board iQFOil, which incorporates new sprint slalom and marathon race formats.
The 10 events feature six types of boat that require either one or two-person crews. Each nation is restricted to one boat per event, although an athlete can compete in more than one boat class. Events comprise an opening series and a medal race (medal series for windsurfing and kiteboarding).
Races are conducted around a course of marker buoys and take place over one to four laps. The number of laps is decided by the race committee shortly before each race and depends on wind and weather conditions.
There are up to four race areas laid out at the same time and two events can be held simultaneously on the same course. The shape of the area varies for each event; some events race on an upwind/downwind course, while others sail around four marks laid out in a trapezoid-shaped course – meaning they contend with wind from all directions. The boats must pass the marker buoys a certain amount of times and in a predetermined order.
Multiple races per event can be scheduled on each day. If weather is unsuitable, extra races per day may be sailed.
Who has won the most medals in Olympic sailing?
Great Britain are the most successful nation in the sport at the Olympics, winning 64 medals (31 gold). The United States are second with 61 medals (19 gold).
Great Britain topped the sailing medal table at the Tokyo Olympics, with three gold, one silver and one bronze.
Host nation France, Germany and Great Britain are the only countries to have qualified a boat in all 10 events at the Paris Games.
