MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marta Maggetti came from behind to win gold Saturday in the new windsurfing class called iQFOiL, topping Sharon Kantor and Emma Wilson at the Paris Olympics.
Israel’s Tom Reuveny won the men’s race, followed by Australia’s Grae Morris. Luuc van Opzeeland won bronze for the Netherlands’ second sailing medal in as many days.
Maggetti, 28, is from Italy, and Kantor, 21, is from Israel. Wilson, of Britain, the daughter of a two-time windsurfing Olympian, also won a bronze medal in Tokyo in the previous windsurfing class.
“I’ve been calm all day, taking it step by step,” a beaming Maggetti said. “I was able to think and I made a turn before the others.”
Wilson, who led the final race until Maggetti made her big move, sobbed with disappointment in the water and back on shore.
“I just made a mistake,” Wilson said. “It really hurts.”
In iQFOiL windsurfing, the sailors fly off the water at high speed, the boards lifted by a foil.
Olympic sailing regattas in Marseille started on Sunday. They have been plagued by high heat and fickle winds, which forced the first medal races in the men’s and women’s skiffs to be postponed to Friday.
The windsurfing quarterfinals, semifinals and medal races were all pushed to Saturday. Each race only lasts about 10 minutes or less, with athletes pushing speeds well above 20 knots (37 kph or 23 mph).
Only two athletes were guaranteed a medal at the beginning of the day because of their ranking after days of sailing; Wilson and Morris. The remaining top nine faced off this way: The athletes ranked four through 10 faced off in a quarterfinal, with the top two advancing to a semifinal against the competitors who began the day in second and third place. The top two finishers in the semi moved on to meet Morris and Wilson.
China’s Zheng Yan and Peru’s Mara Bazo advanced in the first quarterfinal to take on Kantor and Maggetti. Kantor and Maggetti then made it to the final.
Van Opzeeland and Britain’s Sam Sills advanced to the semifinal to face Reuveny and New Zealand’s Josh Armit, with van Opzelaand and Reuveny going into the men’s final.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
