The Olympic sailing events came to end this week in what will go down as the most ‘un-Olympic Olympics’ in history. It took a lot of courage, determination and persistence for athletes to compete under such unusual conditions. Our South African Olympians Alex Burger, Benji Daniel and Leo Davis flew our flag high with pride in the 49er and Finn classes.
49er
Dylan Fletcher & Stuart Bithell (GBR) clinched 49er gold by mere inches after a hugely exciting Medal Race. To beat reigning Olympic champions and America’s Cup winners Peter Burling & Blair Tuke (NZL) is no mean feat, and Bithell explains how they handled that pressure.
Finn
Giles Scott (GBR) successfully defended his Rio 2016 Finn gold medal – but he had to work for it after a difficult Medal Race! He compares both Games and talks through how he fought back from the back of the fleet to get that gold.
Read more: Giles Scott as tacticitian on INEOS Team UK.
Nacra 17
Wrapping up gold with a 10-point advantage, Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti won Italy’s only #Sailing medal at #Tokyo2020. They explain how they prepared in the run-up to the competition and their approach in the run-up to the Games.
RS:X
“Sailing’s Last Airbender” Kiran Badloe speaks after winning RS:X Men gold in #Sailing at #Tokyo2020, on the inspiration behind his haircut and how he handled the pressure at his first Olympic Games.
Laser Radial
The ever-impressive Anne-Marie Rindom won Denmark’s first gold medal of #Tokyo2020 in the Laser Radial class in #Sailing. She spoke afterwards about an unwelcome distraction during a nervy Medal Race, and the positive impact of the support she has received all around the world.
49er FX
They didn’t have the ideal start to their title defence – and Brazilian 49erFX Olympic champions Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze explain how they kept their focus and fought back to claim gold on the final day.
Laser
Matt Wearn wrapped up the #Tokyo2020 Laser gold medal ahead of the Medal Race, continuing a remarkable run for Australia who now have three consecutive Olympic champions in the class. But he admitted he had to “dig deep” mentally to recover from a below-par opening day.
