Getting big for Olympic Sailing

When the Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy event was discontinued after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the lament was that plus-sized people no longer had a place in the Olympic Games. While Star Class and Finn Class sailors had enjoyed a long run of competition, the ten events for Paris 2024 emphasized faster equipment suited for both men and women.

But much has been learned about the new events, as the kiteboard and windsurfing has found the elite sailors gaining weight to improve performance. For the kite event debut in Paris, 2024 World Champions Lauriane Nolot (FRA) and Max Maeder (SNG) are reported to be over 160 and 200 pounds respectively, but the bigger change is in the windsurfer event with new equipment introduced for Paris.

Three years ago in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020, all of the 2024 Men’s Windsurfing Olympic medalists were campaigning in the RS:X class where the target competitive weight was somewhere just about 70kg. It used to be that staying down to weight was a struggle, but with the switch to the iQFOiL windsurfer, the extra power required a lot more muscle, or weight in any form that you can find it.

The new Olympic silver medalist Grae Morris (AUS) says he has been enjoying his desserts this week, while new Olympic Champion Tom Reuveny (ISR) said he had to put on more than 20kg for the change of discipline. “I used to try to stay down at 73kg for the RS:X,” said the Israeli. “Now I’m 95 or 96kg (209-211 lbs), and had to eat a lot of cake to get here.”

For all competition reports, click here.

Event details – Results – Notice Board

Medal Count (G-S-B) – Four of 10 events completed
Israel: 1-1-0
Netherlands: 1-0-1
Italy: 1-0-0
Spain: 1-0-0
Australia: 0-1-0
New Zealand: 0-1-0
Sweden: 0-1-0
Great Britain: 0-0-1
France: 0-0-1
USA: 0-0-1

Source: World Sailing