Who and what to watch in sailing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Australia will compete in several sailing classes at the 2024 Paris Olympic GamesThe world’s best skiff, dinghy and catamaran sailers will play off against each other in France over the next two weeks as they compete for the title of the world’s best athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The games’ host, France, will hold 10 different events including sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing at a dedicated venue on the island-fringed waters of the Marseille Marina, a natural amphitheatre near a major port on the Mediterranean Sea.
Three courses will be used; Marseille, Corniche and Frioul. Marseille is landlocked on two sides, Corniche has land to the north-east, and Frioul is on the south-eastern side of the Frioul Islands group.
There are fewer dinghy sailing events at this year’s Olympic games due to kitesurfing being introduced as a new sport.
Australia is one of 65 nations taking part in the sailing competitions. For sailboats, Australia will compete in the ILCA 6 singlehanded dinghy for women, ILCA 7 singlehanded dinghy for men, 49er crewed skiff for men, 49erFX crewed skiff for women, 470 for mixed crewed dinghy and Nacra 17 for mixed crewed multihull.
The ILCA class is a new-look boat based on the Laser (men) and Laser radial (women). The ILCA 6 features a shorter mast and smaller sail compared with the ILCA 7, making it slightly easier to manage, especially in heavy winds.
Representing Australia will be newcomer Zoe Thompson in the ILCA 6 women’s class and Tokyo gold medallist Matt Wearn in the men’s ILCA 7.
The high-performance 49er (men’s) and 49erFX (women’s) skiffs have trapezes that allow the skipper and crew to stand out on a wing extending from the side of the boat, increasing the boat’s righting moment when working into the breeze. Similar to the ILCA class, the 49erFX has a slightly smaller sail plan, making it a bit easier to handle.
Australia has Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine entered in the 49erFX class, while Jim Colley and Shaun Conner will compete in the 49er class. Both finished second at the French Olympic week in 2023 despite Jim falling ill halfway through the event.
Mixed dinghy sailors will compete in a 470. It is a different set-up to the 49er/49erFX in that it has a single trapeze for the crew, with the skipper confined to the hull. This is the first year it has become a mixed event, with Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas representing Australia.
The only foiling sailboat event is the multihulls division, featuring the Nacra 17. While pupping up on the foils makes the class a lot faster, it also adds an element of unpredictability as the boat is difficult to control while up on the foils.
Representing Australia in this class will be Brin Lidell and Rhiannon Brown.
Australia snared two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the men’s 470 via Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan, and the men’s Laser with Matt Wearn at the helm.
For anyone keen to follow the action live, sailing events will kick off from around 8pm AEST on each day of competition, with medal races held anywhere between 9pm and 11pm AEST. You can also follow the Australian Sailing team via Facebook.
Sailing will not feature at this year's 2024 Paris Paralympic Games which runs from August 28 to September 8. Athletes are campaigning to have it re-introduced at the 2032 Brisbane Paralympic Games.
Sunday, July 28
- Women’s skiff race 1-3 (from 11.30pm, Frioul)
- Men’s skiff race 1-3 (from 11.40pm, Marseille)
Monday, July 29
- Women’s skiff race 4-6 (from 8.10pm, Marseille)
- Men’s skiff race 4-6 (from 10pm, Corniche)
Tuesday, July 30
- Women’s skiff race 7-9 (from 11.40pm, Corniche)
- Men’s skiff race 7-9 (from 10.14pm, Marseille)
Wednesday, July 31
- Women’s skiff race 10-12 (from 8.10pm, Marseille)
- Men’s skiff race 10-12 (from 10.45pm, Marseille)
Thursday, August 1
- Women’s skiff medal race (from 11.40pm, Marseille)
- Men’s skiff medal race (from 10.40pm, Marseille)
- Women’s dinghy race 1-2 (from 11.30pm, Frioul)
- Men’s dinghy race 1-2 (from 8.10pm, Marseille/Frioul)
Friday, August 2
- Women’s dinghy race 3-4 (from 8.10pm, Corniche)
- Men’s dinghy race 3-4 (from 11.30pm, Corniche)
- Mixed dinghy race 1-2 (from 8pm, Marseille/Corniche)
Saturday, August 3
- Women’s dinghy race 5-6 (from 10.20pm, Marseille)
- Men’s dingy race 5-6 (from 8.10pm, Marseille)
- Mixed dinghy race 3-4 (from 1am, Marseille)
- Mixed multihull race 1-3 (from 11.40pm, Corniche)
Sunday, August 4
- Women’s dinghy race 7-8 (from 10.30pm, Corniche)
- Men’s dinghy race 7-8 (from 8.00pm, Corniche)
- Mixed dinghy race 5-6 (from 1am, Marseille)
- Mixed multihull race 4-6 (from 8pm, Frioul)
Monday, August 5
- Women’s dinghy race 9-10 (from 8.10pm, Corniche)
- Men’s dinghy race 9-10 (from 10.35pm, Corniche)
- Mixed dinghy race 7-8 (from 1am, Marseille)
- Mixed multihull race 7-9 (from 8pm, Frioul)
Tuesday, August 6
- Women’s dinghy medal race (from 10.40pm, Marseille)
- Men’s dinghy medal race (from 11.40am, Marseille)
- Mixed dinghy race 9-10 (from 8.10pm, Corniche)
- Mixed multihull race 10-12 (from 11pm, Corniche)
Wednesday, August 7
- Mixed dinghy medal race (from 11.40pm, Marseille)
- Mixed multihull medal race (from 10.40pm, Marseille)
All sailing events have two reserve days to account for adverse weather.
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