Windsurfing repairing Paris problem
Published on January 28th, 2025
No event was more criticized at the Paris 2024 Olympics than the Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing. Of the 10 Sailing events, the Windsurfing program had its own system to award medals, and that was the problem.
An Opening Series confirmed the top ten athletes, with 4th to 10th competing in a single race. The top two then faced the 2nd and 3rd place finishers from the Opening Series, with one race for that group advancing the top two to join the top overall athlete in the Final.
The three athletes in the Final were all guaranteed a medal, with the finishing order in the Final race determining who wins what medal. But for Great Britain’s Emma Wilson, who had won eight of the 14 Opening Series races, she advanced straight to the Final without any time on the course and finished last… ‘winning’ the bronze medal.
The iQFOiL Class, which is the equipment now used in the Olympics, is now testing a revised medal format at the 2025 iQFOiL International Games on January 29-February 2 in Lanzarote, Spain.
Now only the top eight athletes from the Opening Series advance to the medal series, compared to the previous 10. The athletes ranked 8th to 5th have one race with the top two advancing to join the 3rd and 4th place finishers from the Opening Series. From there, the top two move on to the Final which now features four athletes instead of three.
While the top two athletes from the Opening Series go straight to the Final, the Opening Series leader now carries forward one win, giving them an advantage. The ultimate champion will be crowned in the Final based on the number of wins, with the first athlete to achieve two victories securing the title. These changes aim to reward consistency and elevate the level of competition for all participants.
Another significant change is that the iQFOiL Class reduced the sail size for both men and women to make the sport more accessible to athletes of differing body types and create a fairer playing field.
As for Wilson, she has recovered from the Paris 2024 disappointment and is back on the campaign trail in Lanzarote.
“After the Olympics I had a big break which I needed. Since January I’ve been back training with the British Sailing Team’s iQFOiL women’s squad and it’s been fun. I’m enjoying it and for me that’s what I want to keep doing.”
Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program*:
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17
Venue: Long Beach, CA
Dates: July 21-August 6
* World Sailing voted to keep the Paris 2024 Sailing Program for Los Angeles 2028, but the program is not final until the IOC approves all events, which usually occurs between December 2024 and January 2025. At that time, the IOC will also confirm the quota for sailing and how many medals.