Team USA windsurfer Noah Lyons has put himself on course for a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer after day two of the Last Chance Regatta.
Lyons, already selected as the American representative in the iQFOiL windsurfer should the United States qualify a country place, has his fate in his own hands at the final qualifying event of the Olympic campaign being held as part of the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères this week.
Seven places are up for grabs in the men’s windsurfing here and Lyons – who has been sailing since he was six years old – is in a strong position after four races to ensure he will be in Marseille for the debut appearance of the iQFOiL windsurfer.
Speaking after coming ashore from a difficult day of wildly variable winds, and just one race completed this afternoon for the iQFOiL fleet, Lyons said: “I’m super happy so far, I want to just keep this momentum going. It’s nice to be leading but really my goal is to be in the top three going into the final day. We’ll just take it day by day and race by race and try to stay out in front.”
In the women’s windsurfing, Estonia’s Ingrid Puusta is setting her sights on a third Olympic Games after holding on to top spot after day two. The 33-year-old, who also qualified for the 2012 and 2016 Games, is one of the athletes bidding for Paris 2024 qualification who has been supported through World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Program (ENP).
Puusta is hoping to be one of eight women to qualify from the Last Chance Regatta and continues to top the standings.
Puusta said: “For me, it’s been going really well. I had a good first day and today I had a race win so I’m leading, and for the end of the week, I hope to qualify a place for Estonia.”
“The Last Chance Regatta is very important for the countries that haven’t qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which is already less than 100 days away.”
“This event has been very important for many people who have trained throughout the season just for this, so everyone is on top of their game and hoping for the best outcome.”
Germany’s skiff sailors must be happy with the way their week is going so far. Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, there were Germans on the podium in both the men’s 49er and the women’s 49er FX but they have yet to qualify an Olympic place in either event for Paris 2024.
While they must still clear the conditions set by the German authorities to be picked for the Games, the athletes at least look like giving their selectors a decision to make.
In the men’s competition, four Olympic places are on offer and there are two German pairs in the top three after six races. Max Stingele and Linov Scheel top the standings with Fabian Rieger and Tom Heinrich in third.
Five qualifying berths are possible in the women’s skiff where the Poles are in dominant form, occupying the top two places after six races thanks to Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak in first, and Gabriela Czapska and Hanna Rajchert in second.
But a couple of bullets today for German pair Maria Bergmann and Hanna Wille has put them in contention in fifth place, just ahead of compatriots Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke in sixth.
Connor Bainbridge of Great Britain, among the better sailors still not certain of an Olympic place after disappointing Formula Kite performances at the Sailing World Championships and the European Championships, charged into first place here with three bullets to make amends for a first day spent just off the pace.
Five men’s kite places are available, and Bainbridge will be feeling more confident about claiming one of them for Team GB as he moved ahead of Poland’s Maks Zakowski.
In the women’s kite, Elena Lengwiler of Switzerland continued her domination with seven races done as she seeks one of five Olympic places on offer. Lengwiler recorded another three bullets to go with the three she managed yesterday to live up to her billing as a potential medal contender should she make selection.
Danish pair Natacha Saouma-Pedersen and Mathias Bruun Borreskov continue to lead the Nacra 17 competition from which four countries will qualify from a fleet of 15.
They didn’t match yesterday’s 3, 1, 1 performance but a first place in between a sixth and a fourth means they are out in front. Further down the standings, a posse of Belgians has gathered in fourth, fifth and sixth, led by brother-and-sister pair Kwinten and Lotte Borghijs.
A qualifying place in the 470 mixed dinghy looks like Italy’s to lose as Elena Berta and Bruno Festo, in first, and Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini, in second, lead the way in a competition with four Olympic spots available.
In the men’s dinghy, where four Paris 2024 slots can be won, the top two ILCA 7s are two more sailors supported by World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Program – Malaysia’s Khairulnizam bin Mohd Afendy, seeking a fourth consecutive Olympics appearance, and Karl Martin Rammo of Estonia.
Four places are also available for the women’s dinghy, and another Emerging Nations Program-supported sailor – Cyprus’s Marilena Makri – is in first place ahead of Romania’s Ebru Bolat.
Full results from the Last Chance Regatta are available via the Semaine Olympique Française website.
Text Credits: World Sailing & FFV
Photo Credits: Sailing Energy
Video Credits: ICARUS Sports
