Australia’s sailors commenced their Paris 2024 Olympic regattas on the waters of Marseille today, with the two skiff classes getting away three races in light winds.
On a day where the unstable winds meant most teams struggled to find consistently good scores, the Women’s Skiff team of Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine were pleased to walk away in seventh with two top eight finishes and a sixteenth from their three races.
“It’s nice to have the first day of the Games done,” said Olympic debutant Haseldine. “It was pretty light which we were expecting, and we’ve really improved our technique upwind in those conditions.
“I think tomorrow we’ll just be looking to build on that and see if we can get off the line a little bit better and continue working together as a team.”
Jim Colley and Shaun Connor are also making their debut in the Men’s Skiff. The young team from New South Wales were unable to turn good starts into strong results but closed out the day with a top 10 result positioning them in 16th overall.
“We had a bit of a fight between a sea breeze and a gradient breeze that made it very, very tricky,” said Colley.
“Unfortunately, in the first two races we turned half decent positions into not very good ones at the finish which is pretty tough to swallow, but it’s going be a really high scoring regatta and everyone’s going to have their ups and downs.”
Grae Morris has his eyes on a podium finish in Marseille after finishing fourth at last year’s Olympic Test Event and this year’s World Championships, but he will have to wait another day to start his campaign as the fickle winds postponed all racing in the Men’s Windsurfing.
“I think they (the Race Committee) made a good decision,” said Morris after returning ashore.
“They tried to use what they had and tried to get some racing going, but they didn’t force it and sent us in after a good amount of time.”
Australian Team Leader Iain Brambell noted the team’s challenges in the tricky breezes.
“Marseille confirmed its reputation for challenging unsettled hot conditions outside of its legendary Mistral. Today the team experienced low winds that sidelined the Windsurfing competitions and left the Skiffs fighting for limited light shifts that proved challenging.”
Brambell is looking forward to tomorrow’s racing, when the same three classes will be back on the water chasing Olympic glory.
“The athletes and coaches have debriefed their learnings and are well positioned to reset and attack again tomorrow.”
Paris 2024 Olympic Regatta standings
Women’s Skiff (20 boats)
1st: Odile Van Aanholt & Annette Duetz (NED) (5), 1, 1 – 2 points2nd: Sarah Steyaert & Charline Picon (FRA) (2), 2, 2 – 4 pts3rd: Marla Bergman & Hanna Wille (GER) 3, 4, (5) – 7 pts
7th: Olivia Price & Evie Haseldine (AUS) 6, 8, (16) – 14 pts
Men’s Skiff (20 boats)
1st: Isaac Kale McHardie & William McKenzie (NZL) 1, 3, (8) – 4 pts
2nd: Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove (IRL) (9), 4, 1 – 5 pts
3rd: Hernan Umpierre & Fernando Diz (URU): 5, 2, (14) – 7 pts
16th: Jim Colley & Shaun Connor (AUS) (19), 17, 10 – 27 pts
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