The Paris Olympics are in full swing and there’s no better time than the present to support Team USA! Here at BoatLIFE, we are waving our flags proudly as we watch the Olympians take center stage. Not all eyes are on Paris, however, as the Olympic Sailing events will take place further afield on the shores along Marseille, a historic port city in the south of France, just over 400 miles (600 km) away from the capital. Roucas-Blanc Marina will host the 330 athletes who will be competing in 10 competitions. What do you need to know about sailing in the Olympics? What follows is some history of sailing in the Olympics and breakdown of Olympic events by category.
History of Sailing in the Olympics
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sailing made its Olympic debut in Paris in 1900. The first boats to race were much larger with larger crews than what is seen today. Since the 1950s, the trend has been to race smaller boats with smaller crews, and today’s events only include teams of one or two crew members depending on the event.
Women sailors are now racing the 49erFX boats which have smaller sails compared to the men’s 49er’s. The newest event to debut at the 2024 Paris Games is women’s and men’s Kitesurfing, which is also considered the fastest sport at the summer games.
Olympic Events
There are a total of six sailing categories at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which include women’s and men’s windsurfing, women’s and men’s kite surfing, women’s and men’s dinghy, mixed dinghy, women’s and men’s skiff, and mixed multihull. All sailing events will take place in the city of Marseille and its famous waters along the Mediterranean Sea, with Roucas-Blanc Marina as event host.
Marseille is a popular and exciting boating destination, with its varied weather conditions. Some days the blue-green waters are clear as glass, and others they can be choppy with Mistral winds blowing through, topping speeds of 30 knots.
Results from the Paris Olympics
The Olympic Sailing events will take place over the course of a 12-day period. Stay up to date with the latest results from the Paris Olympics at World Sailing’s Paris Olympics 2024 website. Here, you can view standings and race results, see upcoming events, and watch informative videos explaining each of the competitions, along with interviews of some of the Olympic sailing rising stars.
Visit US Sailing’s Olympics page for information on the US Sailing Team’s hopefuls. Bonne chance to all the competitors! Let the Games begin!
