Kiteboarding (Formula Kite), Men

Kiteboarding (also known as kitesurfing) made its Olympic début at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, in Buenos Aires, with it becoming a full Olympic sport at Paris 2024. Although kitesurfing started to gain popularity in the 1970s, the modern-day version of the sport did not originate until the mid-1990s. Formula Kite, first adopted by World Sailing as an international class in 2013, was the class chosen to be used at the 2024 Games. Kiteboards are not one-design, and competitors could choose from a selection of approved production equipment.

The 20 competitors from 20 nations were scheduled to take part in up to 16 first round races and quarter-, semi-, and final races over five days but, due to the weather conditions, only seven first round races were possible. The 10 best scores went through to the next phase. The top two scorers, however, went straight through to the final. The other eight were split into two semi-finals, with the first person to win three races going through to the final. The top ranked competitor in each group (those who finished 3rd and 4th in the opening series) started their semi-final with a credit of two wins, while the second ranked in each group (those who finished 5th and 6th in the opening series), were credited with one win. Credit wins were also given in the final, with the best qualifier from the opening round getting two, while the runner-up received one credit win.

The only medalist from the 2018 Youth Olympics taking part on the waters at Marseille was silver medal winner Toni Vodišek of Slovenia, the 2022 Formula Kite World Championship winner. The clear favorite for the inaugural event, however, was Singapore’s 17-year-old World Sailing’s number one ranked Max Maeder. A consistent performer, he had been winning major championship medals since the age of 14 and went to the Paris Games as the holder of the 2023 and 2024 Formula Kite World Championships. Local favorite Axel Mazella, with three World championship medals to his credit, was expected to bring home a medal for the host country. The silver and bronze medalists behind Meader at the 2024 Worlds, Riccardo Pianosi (ITA) and Valentin Bontus (AUT) could not be ruled out as possible medal winners, neither could Great Britain’s Connor Bainbridge, although he was not best prepared for the Games after suffering a series of injuries before going to Marseille.

The honor of winning the first race in kiteboarding history at the Olympics fell to Bontus, but the opening round belonged to Toni Vodišek, who topped the leaderboard after seven races, following wins in races three and six. He was joined in an automatic place in the final by the favorite Maeder.

The semi-finals required one competitor to win three races to progress to the final. Pianosi and Bontus went through to the semis and started with two earned wins, while Mazella and Germany’s No. 6 ranked Jannis Maus each started with one earned win. Pianosi got the three wins he needed to reach the final after winning the second race, while Bontus won his first race to secure his third win and a place in the final.

With the conclusion of the final series being put back by a day because of poor weather conditions, Vodišek (2) and Maeder (1) started the final each with the advantage of earned wins to their credit, but in the end they counted for nothing, as Bontus, ranked five in the world, won the first three races to secure first place and gold. Vodišek took silver, while Maeder had to be content with bronze as he won Singapore’s first sailing medal. Austria won gold for the second day in succession, after Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr had won the two person dinghy (470) the previous day.