The Dutch duo of Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz took an early lead in the Women’s Skiff on the opening day of sailing at Paris 2024.
Van Aanholt and Duetz, the reigning world champions, closed out the day with two race wins in the 49erFX class, managing to perform well in light winds off the coast of Marseille.
France’s Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon followed closely behind with an extremely consistent performance on the water, finishing second across all three races.
Germany’s Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille placed third overall, following third and fourth finishes in the two opening races.
Van Aanholt said: “It was a very hot day so a lot of our process was focused on heat protocol and keeping the head cool.
“We had a lot of fun, it wasn’t easy. When the day finished we said to each other this is something we have to enjoy because it doesn’t happen often.
“We didn’t know if fans were cheering for the French or the Dutch, but we’ll take it.”
Duetz said: “We got it done. The Games have started. It’s very special for me, after the Tokyo Games, that friends and family can now be around, so it is really special to feel so much support.”
Picon said: “Today was the first day so we wanted to enjoy all the atmosphere of the Olympics.
“We knew that it would be emotional when we went out with all the families on the beach, it was a good moment for us.
“After that we switched to focus on what we had to do. It was quite light so we knew the start would be a good thing to focus on.”
Steyaert said: “We are focused on what we have to do, race by race. That was the role of today.”
Bergmann said: “Going into today our main focus was to keep it simple and easy and focus on what we can do and I think we managed that quite well. We will take it day by day.
“Marla wakes up every morning and looks out the window and sees what she gets from the wind so we don’t get too excited about the forecast.”
Wille said: “We know that we’re fast in these conditions so we tried to have a free lane and play on our speed.”
How it works:
Medals for the Women’s Skiff (49erFX) will be decided by the cumulative results of the 20-strong fleet over 12 races. The boat with the lowest total will rank first.
Athletes will be able to discard their worst finishing position after they’ve completed three races.
At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten boats in the fleet will qualify for the Medal Race, which is worth double points.
The score in the Medal Race cannot be discarded. The crew with the smallest overall points total will win gold.
