Matt Wearn (AUS) successfully defended his Olympic title with a well-executed performance in the Men’s Dinghy Medal Race. The Australian added another gold medal to his collection in style by winning the medal race in Marseille. This victory means Australia has now won the last four Men’s Dinghy Olympic gold medals, beginning with Tom Slingsby in 2012, followed by Tom Burton in 2016, and Wearn in both Tokyo and now Paris.
Kontides, competing in his fifth Olympic Games, finished second in the medal race and secured another silver medal—a repeat of his 2012 performance. Completing the top three was Stefano Peschiera, who, despite finishing ninth in the Medal Race, managed to hold on and take home a bronze medal for Peru.
As seen on World Sailing’s website, Wearn said: “The last three years have been an up-and-down ride, but we kept ticking boxes. It was a matter of executing this week, and we did that. It’s been quite hard to deal with the waiting at times; luckily, we didn’t have to wait for another day, and now we can celebrate and have some fun. My parents have helped me all the way. There have been times when I haven’t enjoyed the sport as much, but they’ve really helped—they’re incredible parents. The expectation has been tougher this time, being the reigning champion and winning the last two World Championships. I had that target on my back, and that was new and different.”
Kontides said: “I’m over the moon. I had tears of joy sailing back to the shore, and then I was with my wife, my family, my friends who were supporting me. A second Olympic medal for my country, and it came from myself.”
Peschiera said: “It’s hard to describe how this feels. It took a lot of hard work, and it came out positively throughout the week. Finally closing out the chapter is such a relief after such a tough race. I try to be a perfectionist, so I’m never going to celebrate until I know that’s my medal. I think that’s what got me here. I wanted to ask my coach, and when he confirmed it, I had a roller coaster of emotions.”
Moving on to the ILCA 6's where Marit Bouwmeester got her hands on gold following the completion of the Women’s Dinghy Medal Race. Bouwmeester’s (NED) consistency, with seven top-5 finishes in the Opening Series, meant that she had secured her gold medal before the medal race. Bouwmeester finished 4th in the Medal Race, meaning she has now won two golds—in Paris and Rio—a silver in London, and a bronze in Tokyo. This meant, Bouwmeester overtook Hannah Mills (GBR) to become the most successful female Olympic sailor ever.
Anne-Marie Rindom was unable to defend her Olympic title from Tokyo but settled for a superb silver, which she had also wrapped up prior to the Medal Race, in which she finished 5th. The bronze medal was the only contested spot. Line Flem Hoest (NOR) entered the finale sitting in third and held on to that position, crossing the finish line in 2nd in the medal race.
As seen on World Sailing’s website, Bouwmeester said: “In the build-up to the Medal Race, I tried to stay focused, but I’m also a mum, so I had to be there for Jessie Mae. I’ve been with her a lot, putting her to bed and being there when she wakes up. It’s nice to finally finish it off; it hasn’t sunk in yet. I think sometimes at the Olympics, you can get too serious too quickly, so it’s nice to have a distraction with Jessie Mae. Then you also have the lack of sleep and the loss of energy, but I’m grateful to be a mum and an athlete. I have so much respect for Line and Anne-Marie; we push each other all the way. There’s a mutual respect between us.”
Rindom said: “It’s huge just to get to an Olympic Games, so to secure a medal is amazing. It’s really hard to perform at an Olympics, and it’s been nerve-wracking, but I kept fighting right to the end. I don’t think this was my last race.”
Line Flem Hoest said: “My plan was to have a good start and rely on my speed. I managed to reel it back in and get my speed up. I thought the left looked good before the start and only started thinking about my competitors after the first mark. You never know what can happen in a race, so I tried to keep it cool and stay where I thought it would be best. On the last downwind, I saw it was going to go my way, and that was amazing.”
