Olympic sailing at the Paris Olympics came to a close on Friday with the men’s kiteboarding competition completing its series. After light winds early resulted in postponed races for the 12th time in 13 days, it was 23-year-old Austrian Valentin Bontus who claimed the first gold medal in men's Olympic kiteboarding. Slovenia's Toni Vodisek won silver and Singapore's Max Maeder took bronze.
After the delay, wind filled from the southwest at 11 mph and the race committee sent the four kiteboarders out to the medal course a few hundred yards off the Marseille Marina.
The kiteboarding format awards gold to the first competitor to win three races. Entering the second final race on Friday, Vodisek had two wins, Bontus and Maeder had one win, and Italy's Riccardo Pianosi trailed with no wins.
The five-leg race course was about 4 miles in length. The boards got off to a fast start charging upwind at 25 mph. Bontus took an early lead while Vodisek received a penalty that added points to his score. Pianosi looked to be off the pace. He fell off his board on the fourth leg and finished a distance 43 seconds behind Bontus, who tallied his second win to pull even with Vodisek on the precipice of gold.
Entering the third race, Vodisek and Bontus just needed one more win for gold. The wind seemed to be increasing during the short break between races and Pianosi sailed back to the harbor to switch to the smaller kite.
At the race's start, Vodisek sailed off to the right side of the course, gambling that he might find stronger wind to the north. The other three sailors headed in a more southerly direction. When they came together Vodisek, was well behind. Then he took a fall and splashed into the water, effectively losing his chance at a gold medal. Pianosi’s gambit of using a smaller kite appeared to pay off as he led at the first mark with a slim two second advantage over Bontus. Could he hold on to the lead and extend the series?
On the second leg, Bontus accelerated right past the Italian and rounded the second turning mark four seconds ahead of Pianosi. Three legs to go. Well behind at this point in the race, Maeder and Vodisek could only hope that the Italian would win the heat so the event would continue.
But Bontus soldiered on, sailing fast and not looking back. He stretched out on the final two legs and crossed the finish line seven seconds ahead of Pianosi to earn a gold medal.
It took a little time for the accomplishment to sink in before the Austrian showed any emotion. And then, like the other sailors who had won medals earlier this week, he gave several vigorous fist pumps and let his kite carry him 30 feet into the air.
Bontus said he was inspired by the victory of his colleagues from Austria, Lara Vadlau and Luka Maehr, who had won a gold medal a day earlier in the mixed dinghy class. Two gold medals for land-locked Austria marked an impressive achievement.
Sailing at Paris Olympics
A total of 65 countries were represented in Marseille. Impressively, 19 countries won at least one of the 30 medals that were presented to the top three finishers in each class. Parity in sports in considered a good thing because it generates close competition. When every competitor feels they have a chance for victory, a sport thrives.
Several of the classes arranged to provide the equipment for the Games including the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, IKA Formula Kites and IQFoil windsurfers. The other four classes required competitors to bring their own boats. There is a strict measurement protocol to ensure every boat adheres to the specifics developed for each class. The expense of bringing your own boat versus having provided equipment is something the Olympic sailing organizers will address for the future.
Looking ahead
There are several takeaways from these Olympics that bode well for the future. For the first time in Olympic history, absolute gender equity was achieved. The number of athletes included 165 men and 165 women. In addition, there were an equal number of medal opportunities for both men and women.
In Rio in 2016, the mixed multihull class featured a mixed crew, which was a first in sailing. That year, 12 of the 20 boats had men steering and eight boats boats had women steering. In this year's mixed dinghy competition, the winning crew from Austria was steered by a woman, Lara Vadlau. In mixed multihull, Laila van der Meer was at the helm for the Netherlands and finished fourth in her class. A total of 38 boats raced in the 470 and Nacra 17 classes and 11 of the boats had women at the helm.
In November, World Sailing — the international governing body of sailing — will meet and review all the procedures and protocols for sailing. The kiteboarding competition is scheduled to continue for Los Angeles 2028. The mixed crew format is working well and will certainly be a feature going forward.
One important part of the sport of sailing that is missing from the Olympic Games are keelboats. There is a proposal to include a keelboat for a long-distance race of 400 miles with a double-handed mixed crew in a boat of about 30 feet. Racing fans could follow the competitors via GPS tracking. It would add a different element to the sport in contrast to the short course racing being used today.
The idea for a long-distance race is not new. In 1936, an American champion sailor named C. Sherman Hoyt proposed the idea for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Sailing that year took place in Kiel, Germany, on the northern coast. Hoyt's idea is being discussed by World Sailing. The waters of Southern California around the Channel Islands would make a good venue for a long-distance sailing race.
I have a feeling the wind will blow hard for the next month off Marseille. The past 13 days provided extraordinary competitive for sailors who ranged in age from 17 to 49. All of them will cherish the experience of being a part of the Games. The next Olympics seems a long way off, but four years seems to come around quickly.