The traditional classes
While there were hardly any changes between the Games in Rio 2016 and Enoshima 2021, Olympic sailing will be radically revamped in Marseille: 50 per cent of the ten disciplines are new. The laser sailors in the Ilca 7 (men) and Ilca 6 (women), the foiling catamaran Nacra 17 and the two skiff disciplines 49er (men) and 49erFX (women) have remained. In addition, the 470 dinghy, which has been an Olympic event since 1976 and is therefore the longest-serving dinghy, will no longer be sailed by two men or two women, but only by mixed teams for the first time. The iQFoil windsurfers will celebrate their premiere in the programme with a men's and a women's field, as will the Formula kiters with two competitions for men and women.
Premiere for the IQ-Foiler
In windsurfing, the iQFOiL has replaced the RS:X, on which the Dutchman Kiran Badloe and the Chinese Yunxiu Lu won Olympic gold in Enoshima. Many of those who excelled on the RS:X three years ago will now be competing for Olympic gold in the men's and women's iQFOiL. The fleets have also grown from the PWA professional tour, whose athletes have seized the Olympic opportunity. A good example of this is Sebastian Kördel (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), the German iQFoil world champion in 2022 and runner-up in 2023. In contrast to the RS:X boards of the Olympic past, the iQFoil boards use hydrofoils instead of centreboards. The result is boards that lift out of the water and appear to "fly" over the water. The windsurfers can reach speeds of up to 35 knots.
Kiters take part for the first time
Kitesurfing will also be introduced in the Olympic area of the Bay of Marseille, divided into a men's and a women's field. The Formula kiters represent one of the fastest sports of the XXXIII Olympic Games. Their athletes can reach optimal speeds of up to 45 knots, i.e. more than 80 kilometres per hour. Powered by large stunt kites in four different sizes, the male and female riders are connected to a harness on their boards while they steer their stunt kites with a hand batten.
Women and men have equal rights
A total of 330 athletes - 165 men and 165 women from 65 countries - will be competing for 30 medals on 252 boats and boards in Marseille. The German national sailing team will be one of only three nations competing in all ten Olympic sailing disciplines alongside the British Olympic medallists and hosts France. In other words, with a maximum authorised team of 14 (7 women, 7 men). China, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and the USA are sending starters in nine of the ten Olympic disciplines. With just one boat or board, nations such as South Korea (Ilca 7), St Lucia (Ilca 7), Mozambique (Ilca 6), Algeria (iQFoil Men), Antigua and Barbuda (Formula Kite Men) and twelve others are looking for their chance at the Olympic regatta in Marseille.
The largest fleets in France are once again the Ilca 7 coxswains and the Ilca 6 coxswains with 43 one-person dinghies each. In the iQFoil, 24 male and 24 female starters are authorised. There will be 20 competitors each in the Formula Kite men's and women's fields and in the 49er (men) and 49erFX (women) skiff disciplines. Only 19 boats will compete in the 470 Mixed and the Nacra 17 for the Olympic showdown.
The 10 Olympic sailing disciplines
Men
- Dinghy (Ilca 7, formerly Laser, Olympic since 1996)
- Skiff (49er, Olympic since 2000)
- Windsurfing (iQFoil, new)
- Kiting (Formula Kite, new)
Women
- Dinghy (Ilca 6, formerly Laser Radial, Olympic since 2008)
- Skiff (49erFX, Olympic since 2016)
- Windsurfing (iQFoil, new)
- Kiting (Formula Kite, new)
Mixed
- Dinghy (470, Olympic since 1976, new as mixed discipline)
- Catamaran (Nacra 17, Olympic since 2016)
