by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
It was no great surprise that Marseille had little wind for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and it was a mystery why the reliable winds along France’s Atlantic coast were not taken advantage of. When athletes dedicate their lives to an Olympic activity, shouldn’t ensuring the best possible conditions be a top priority?
“World Sailing has always had problems selecting good venues for Olympic sailing,” recalled two-time medalist Mitch Booth. “Qingdao, Savannah, Athens, even Sydney Harbour (beautiful but not good for racing) and now Marseille. All of these venues have severely impacted the racing.”
Most major championships are usually contested over enough days, but half of the sailing events at Paris 2024 had just four days to complete the opening series that puts the top ten into the medal round. Due to painfully light winds limiting racing on most days, only three of the ten classes completed their scheduled races.
“Four days of fleet competition without a reserve day in an area with unreliable wind conditions is just crazy,” noted Booth. “Due to the tight schedule in Marseille, race committees pushed for marginal racing and frustrated on-water umpires who worked overtime in light wind conditions. World Sailing approves each Olympic bid and is ultimately responsible.”
The 2032 Olympic Games will be held in Brisbane, north of Sydney on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. Concerns are already being raised about this location, but what are the chances of the Games being moved from a city with access to water?
Fortunately, the venue for the 2028 Los Angeles sailing regattas, Long Beach, was successful for the 1984 Olympics and is a well-known windy racing venue in California. With flat water under an outer breakwater and big swell conditions behind it, the next four years will be muy bueno!
UPDATE: While Hyères would have been a better Mediterranean venue, we’re told that the beauty of the backdrop for the images also played a role in the selection of the Paris 2024 venue, and Marseille did well in that category. Additionally, as the second largest city in France, Marseille had the political connections to influence the selection and win the $47.8 million facility built for the competition.
Olympic sailing program 2024 in Paris:
Single dinghy for men – ILCA 7
Women’s single dinghy – ILCA 6
Mixed two-person dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Kiteboard for Men – Formula Kite Class
Kiteboarding for Women – Formula Kite Class
Windsurfing for Men – iQFOiL
Windsurfing for women – iQFOiL
Mixed multihull – Nacra 17
Venue: Marseille, France
Dates: 28 July – 9 August
Details: https://paris2024.sailing.org/
