One Person Dinghy (ILCA 7), Men

Formerly known as Laser, the ILCA (International Laser Class Association) small single-handed dinghy is the world’s most popular boat due to it being lightweight, easy to set up, and simple to sail. It has been used at the Olympics since 1996, when it was an open event, but since 2008 men and women have had their own separate competitions. Being a one-design boat means that all competitors use the same craft, which is built by the same manufacturer. At the Olympics, men currently use the ILCA 7 while women use the ILCA 6, an identical boat but with a smaller sail that is more suitable for lighter sailors.

The 2024 Olympic regatta consisted of 43 entrants taking part in an opening series of up to ten races spread over six days, with the 10 best going through to a medal race, where double points were awarded and added to the opening series scores to establish final positions. Only eight races took place in the opening series at Marseille, however, because races 9 and 10 were cancelled due to a lack of wind.

Two of the three Tokyo 2020 medalists were taking part at Marseille. The defending champion Matt Wearn was going for a second consecutive gold and hoping to win a fourth straight gold medal for Australia in the event, while the 2020 bronze medalist, Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard, was also hoping to win his second medal.

Wearn was the clear favorite after winning both the 2023 and 2024 World Championships, and he went to the Olympics ranked world No. 1. Just behind Wearn in the rankings was Great Britain’s Micky Beckett. He was runner-up at the 2023 Worlds and bronze medal winner in 2024, and was a medal favorite at the Paris Games. Other medal contenders included the 2020 World champion Philipp Buhl of Germany, the world number three at the time of the Games, and France’s 2022 World champion Jean-Baptiste Bernaz.

Duko Bos of the Netherlands started proceedings on the waters at Marseille by winning the opening race, before Wearn made his presence felt after finishing second in race two and winning the third race, when he took over the lead ahead of Peru’s Stefano Peschiera, winner of race two. Wearn extended his overall lead after winning race five, but only five points separated the next five men, all of whom, apart from Peschiera, were pre-race medal favorites.

At the end of the seventh race, the 2017 and 2018 World champion Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus had moved into second place after a display of consistent sailing. After the next race, Wearn topped the leaderboard from Kontides but, due to a lack of wind, the last two races were cancelled, and the final standings after race eight meant that the Australian was guaranteed a minimum of a silver medal, with only Kontides capable of depriving him of a second gold.

The medal race proved tough for the leading contenders. The first race had to be abandoned with the finish line in sight, with Wearn, Kontides, and Beckett in the medal positions. The medal race eventually took place and, despite a slow start by Wearn, it went according to form when the Australian won ahead of Kontides, with the Peruvian Peschiera edging out Hungary’s Jonatán Vadnai, Tomasgaard, and Beckett for the bronze medal.

The three podium finishers were all from different continents, Oceania, South America, and Europe. Peschiera won Peru’s first ever Olympic sailing medal, and was their first podium finish in any sport since Juan Jorge Giha Yarur’s shooting silver medal in 1992. The 2022 European champion Kontides won his second sailing medal, after winning silver at London 2012, as he remained the only medal winner in any sport from Cyprus. Wearn, who became the first Australian to win consecutive sailing gold medals, became the second-most successful ILCA 7 sailor in Olympic history, behind Brazil’s Robert Scheidt.