A tearful Emma Wilson said she was “done with windsurfing” after a controversial finish to the iQFoil class ended with the Briton claiming bronze for a second successive Games and afterwards hitting out at the competition format.
Wilson, 25, was left to rue a mistake on the second upwind leg of the three-person winner-takes-all final, dropping from first to third. But she blamed that mistake on the competition format in iQFoil, which is unique among the Olympic classes. In the other classes the points carry over to medal races in which points count double. In iQFoil, it is a winner-takes-all final.
Basically Wilson was doubly penalised for having done so well in the series as she went straight to final and did not get a practice race today like her competitors in the final.
Wilson’s superb form this week – she won eight of the 14 qualifying races, leading her nearest challenger by 31 points – meant she advanced straight to the final in Marseille while her rivals, Italy’s Marta Maggetti and Israel’s Sharon Kantor, battled it out to join her. That meant they got to sharpen their racing talons while she kicked her heels. Wilson last raced on Thursday, with Friday’s sailing cancelled because of light winds.
Wilson actually made a fine start to the final only to head much further out than her two rivals on the second upwind leg. Both Maggetti and Kantor tacked earlier on to the layline and made huge gains. By the time they reached the top gate, the race had been turned completely on its head. Wilson had gone from first to last, 23sec behind Maggetti, who was closely trailed by Kantor. That was how things stayed.
Wilson slumped to her board at the finish, head in hands, sobbing. After some words of comfort from her coach, she managed to rouse herself to congratulate Maggetti and Kantor. But she was clearly furious.
“I think I’m done with this sport,” she said. “I think they need to think about people’s mental health, it’s not okay to be put in that position every time.
“I had a 60-point lead at the World Championships, a 30-point lead here, I’m not sure how many times you can come back. It’s obvious I had a disadvantage with this scoring system. You finish top and go straight to the final but the others get the chance to race.
“I just made a mistake on the layline, obviously I hadn’t done a race yet so those girls knew where the layline was, and I just made a mistake.”
It was a second bronze medal for Wilson after her historic third place in the old RS:X class in Tokyo, when she achieved something her mother, the three-time world champion windsurfer Penny Way, never did. Way represented Britain at the 1992 and 1996 Games, finishing in sixth and seventh places respectively.
But it was a bitter pill to swallow for Wilson given her dominance earlier in the week.
“Will the medal give me any solace?” she said. “I think it will, maybe in a week, I don’t know. Right now, it hurts really bad but I’ll be proud when I get on the podium.
“The girls are amazing that I race against. Marta’s an amazing sailor, she’s an amazing friend as well. To be honest it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. I’m really happy for her, but for me, I’m not sure how many times I can be put through that.”
“I just hope I can inspire some kids. What I’ve done this week, I’ve shown you can dominate a sport. If I can show them that you work hard and that’s what happens, then that’s a win. I’d love to go home with a gold medal but bronze will have to do.”
Emma Wilson claims bronze: As it happened
01:35 PM BST
Reuveny wins gold for Israel
Israel are building up a nice lead now. This is the second impressive windsurfing comeback of the day after Maggetti. A superb finish from Reuveny who crossed the line in first to take gold. He jumps from his sail in joy, helping Israel to their first windsurfing medal. Morris comes in second for the silver. Van Opzeeland settles for bronze.
01:32 PM BST
Back underway
After a lengthy delay no athlete will be punished and they are off once more. Approaching Mark 3, Morris and Opzeeland are within touching distance of each other while Reuveny comes from out of the blue to take lead on the turn out of the third mark. Opzeeland falls back into third, but not far behind. It’s looking more and more like a two horse race, the longer this race goes on.
01:15 PM BST
Men’s final
This is the final race of the day. The athletes get in place and they’re off. But there’s been a general recall. One of the athletes has broken the start. It looks like it is Reuveny of Israel. This means on the restart the other two competitors will have a five second head start on Reuveny. There will be a short delay here.
Competitors:
Grae Morris (Australia)
Luuc Van Opzeeland (The Netherlands)
Tom Reuveny (Israel)
12:58 PM BST
Heartbreak for Emma Wilson
Heartbreak for Wilson. That second upwind leg just killed her. Having led round the bottom mark, she opted to head further out than her two rivals, both of whom tacked early and made huge gains. By the time they reached the top mark, Wilson was dead last, 23sec behind Maggetti, who had been last at the bottom mark. In such short, fast races, you are not going to get that time back. Wilson slumps, head in hands, on her board at the finish. A second successive bronze medal after that bronze in the RSX class in Tokyo. After being so dominant all week, that is going to hurt. After some words of comfort from her coach, she manages to rouse herself to congratulate Maggetti and Kantor. Good to see.
This new format put a lot of pressure on Wilson, who absolutely smashed the fleet race series this week, topping the standings by miles. She had to wait two days to race in the final. Her competitors, meanwhile, had the chance to sharpen their racing talons in the semis. It will be interesting to hear what Emma says about that and whether she feels it made a difference.
12:54 PM BST
Wilson devastated at finish line – but takes bronze
Time running out for Israel and GB to catch Italy’s Maggetti. The Italian completes a sharp turn on the last to claim gold, Kantor takes home silver with a devastated Wilson taking bronze. It looked for a while like Wilson might take the gold with a perfect start to her run but it wasn’t to be.
12:49 PM BST
Wilson falls back
Sublime recovery from Maggetti with a terrific upwing leg. She goes from third to first in the blink of an eye. The fleet has been inverted and Wilson is in third.
12:46 PM BST
Fast start for Wilson
19 knots across the start line for Wilson, that will help her chances. First turn sees Wilson take the lead with Kantor nipping hat her heels.
12:43 PM BST
Women’s windsurfing final
As previously mentioned, each competitor is guaranteed a medal, but which color will Team GB’s Emma Wilson walk away with. She qualified automatically after being best in qualification. Will the rest benefit her or hinder her quest for gold? Will the momentum of Kantor and Maggetti work in their favour? We’re about to find out. 30 seconds until the final horn blow.
Competitors:
Emma Wilson (Team GB)
Sharon Kantor (Israel)
Marta Maggetti (Italy)
12:33 PM BST
Not to be for Sam Sills – so what now?
Wasn’t to be for the 31-year-old Sills, a double junior world champion. But 5th at your first Olympics is a pretty decent return. Not sure what his plans are but he’s a clever bloke, a naval architect by training. I imagine he will go back to running his company in sustainable electric marine technology / windsurfing / paddle board / hydrofoil design.
12:24 PM BST
Van Opzeeland and Reuveny make windsurfing final
The Dutchman is looking very strong after this victory and will have the momentum going into the final which could serve him well. Reuveny also guaranteed a medal with a second place finish.
12:22 PM BST
Field is split, Opzeeland looking good
Opzeeland and Reuveny go head-to-head on the final stretch. Sills is all but out of it now. The wind took him too far off course on the final turn and he is way back in fourth position. No medal for GB this time around.
12:18 PM BST
Men’s semi-final
After making it out of the quarter-finals, Sam Sills now has a chance to guarantee himself a medal by placing either first or second in the semi-final. All competitors are side-by-side coming into the first turn. Sills splits from the fleet early, like he did in the quarter-final. It paid off then, will he have the same luck this time around?
Competitors:
Tom Reuveny (Israel)
Josh Armit (New Zealand)
Sam Sills (Team GB)
Luuc van Opzeeland (The Netherlands)
12:10 PM BST
Kantor and Maggetti into final
Coming up to the mark Kantor and Maggetti are out in front. Yang’s maneuver only took her to third and she’s a ways back now. Kantor pulls away on the final leg with Maggetti happy to take second place. Both are into the final now, and guaranteed medals.
12:07 PM BST
Strong tactical maneuvers
China taking a risk here, Yang seperates herself from the field. She has taken off to the right while the other three go left. It could work for Yang but she’s got more distance to make up.
12:05 PM BST
Women’s semi-final
This is all happening so fast. I can’t even imagine how the athletes feel amidst this whirlwind. From one event to the next in the blink of an eye. We’re off! Four competitors left. Two make it through to the final. Who will they be?
Sharon Kantor (Israel)
Maria Belen Bazo German (Peru)
Zhen Yang (China)
Marta Maggetti (Italy)
12:00 PM BST
Double windsurfing medals for Team GB?
What a move from GB’s Sam Sills. Hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for him. He was down in 8th overall after the fleet races and only just snuck into the quarter-final. But a last-ditch pass on Italy’s Niccolo Renna at the final mark sees him through to a semi. Could we have double windsurfing medals for Team GB today?
11:58 AM BST
Van Opzeeland and Sills into the semi-final.
Team GB’s Sam Sills will have a chance to take home gold after reaching the men’s windsurfing semi-final.
11:56 AM BST
Van Opzeeland holds lead in third leg
The Dutchman is still out in front. Sills took a risk on the last turn and it paid off as he overtakes Italian Niccolo Renna and finished in second.
11:52 AM BST
Sills chooses path less travelled
Sam Sills is way out on the right hand side of the track, far away from any of his competitors, but he’s omnly in third place. Dutchman Luuc van Opzeeland exits the opening phase in the lead.
11:49 AM BST
Men’s windsurfing quarter-final competitors
Ethan Westera (Aruba)
Sam Sills (Team GB)
Niccolo Renna (Italy)
Luuc van Opzeeland (The Netherlands)
Pawel Tarnowski (Poland)
Elia Colombo (Switzerland)
Noah Lyons (USA)
11:42 AM BST
China and Peru reach semi-final
Zhen Yang (China) and Maria Belen Bazo German (Peru) have gone from being out of contention to being in the box seat. Incredible determination and resilience from these two. China out in first but Peru close behind. They spotted where the breeze and fastest side of the course was and took advantage. That’s smart sailing. Yang and Bazo German through to the semi-final.
11:36 AM BST
First ever knockout series in Olympic sailing
After yesterday’s postponement due to a lack of wind, are about to witness the first ever knockout series in Olympic sailing down in Marseille. It will be in the iQFoil class, or women’s windsurfing. Seven women are lining up in a quarter-final (these are the athletes who placed 4th-10th in the fleet races earlier this week). The top two from this race will go through to face the 2nd and 3rd placed finishers from the fleet races. Then the top two will go through to face Britain’s Emma Wilson in the final medal race.
11:35 AM BST
The competitors for women’s windsurfing
Zhen Yang (China)
Katerina Svikova (Czechia)
Helen Noesmoen (France)
Theresa Marie Steinlein (Germany)
Veerle Ten Have (New Zealand)
Maja Dziarnowska (Poland)
Maria Belen Bazo German (Peru)
11:28 AM BST
Far from plane sailing – but we’re underway
After some lengthy delays it looks like things are finally getting underway in Marseille. The winds up, the crowds are waiting, the athletes are preparing. First up is the women’s windsurfing quarter-finals. This will determine who eventually meets Emma Wilson in the final.
11:23 AM BST
Wilson guaranteed a medal – but which colour?
Emma Wilson’s bid to become Great Britain’s first Olympic windsurfing champion will continue this morning after her scheduled medal race was postponed due to continued light winds at the Olympic regatta in Marseille.
Wilson has already guaranteed a medal after winning eight of her 14 qualification races to reach the three-strong final, which had been due to take place in mid-afternoon.
But despite a promising start that enabled the completion of the men’s and women’s skiff finals, both of which had been held over from Thursday, the wind dropped and officials made the decision to postpone the race shortly before three o’clock.
Wilson ‘s rivals are required to contest quarter-finals and semi-finals to decide the composition of the medal race, with both of those races also held over. Conditions are scheduled to improve on Saturday.
Ireland duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove crashed out of medal contention in the men’s skiff, finishing last of nine starters in the final race to place fourth overall, while Team GB’s James Peters and Fynn Sterritt came seventh.
Action starts shortly.
Source Agencies
