NZL Sailing Team: Nine classes to compete at Pre-Olympics in Marseille
by Yachting NZ/Sail-World.com/nz 25 May 15:00 PDT
26 May 2023
Josh Armit (NZL) - Day 5 - iQFOiL Europeans in Patras, Greece, May 2023 © Tasman Rowntree
Twelve sailors will represent New Zealand in nine of the 10 Olympic classes at July's Olympic test event in Marseille, just over a year out from the Paris Games.
The test event is considered a dress rehearsal for the Olympics, with competitors racing at the same venue and against a similar level of competition to what they’ll encounter at the quadrennial showpiece next year.
Yachting New Zealand high performance director Ian Stewart said selection was hotly contested across several of the classes, as was evident at the first two regattas of the new European season - the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma de Mallorca, and the World Cup in Hyères.
One of those classes is the 49er, where Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie won the nod over Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn following a bronze medal in Spain and a sixth place in France.
Jo Aleh and Molly Meech were picked in the 49er FX class ahead of Alex Maloney and Olivia Hobbs, while George Gautrey edged Tom Saunders to selection in the ILCA 7 (Laser) courtesy of his silver medal at the Princess Sofia.
Nacra 17 combination Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson, who finished third at the Lanzarote International Regatta in February and managed a top-10 finish in Hyères, have also been selected as have windfoilers Josh Armit and Veerle ten Have.
Ten Have won bronze in Palma, with Armit finishing fourth in the men's competition at the same event before securing a seventh place at the European championships in Greece earlier this month.
The iQFOIL will make its Olympic debut in Paris, replacing windsurfing.
New Zealand's leading women's kitefoiler Justina Kitchen will also compete in Marseille, while Lukas Walton-Keim has recovered from a knee injury to book his spot in the men's event.
New Zealand will also have an ILCA 6 competing at the test event, despite not meeting the selection criteria. This is a unique selection to help support and develop the class as they continue their efforts to qualify for 2024.
Olivia Christie will compete in the boat, formerly called the Laser Radial, in Marseille.
Another class debuting in Paris next year is the 470 mixed, with the test event not considered an immediate priority for our NZL crews given the very new combinations, time in the boat, and regatta results.
"Congratulations to those who have been selected. The test event provides an invaluable opportunity for our sailors to race at the Olympic venue against an Olympic-sized fleet and to understand the conditions they will encounter in 2024," Stewart said.
"There's a long way to go before the sailing team is finalised for the Paris Games, with strict performance criteria which must still be met."
Other sailors who have not been selected to compete at the test event but who remain in contention for Olympic success, will also be in attendance in Marseille, Stewart added.
The Olympic test event is scheduled for July 9 to 16 and will be followed by the sailing world championships in The Hague in August.
New Zealand team to compete at the Olympic test event in Marseille, France (July 9-16):
- Nacra 17 (mixed): Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson
- 49er: Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie
- 49er FX: Jo Aleh and Molly Meech
- iQFOIL (men): Josh Armit
- iQFOIL (women): Veerle ten Have
- Formula kite (men): Lukas Walton-Keim
- Formula kite (women): Justina Kitchen
- ILCA 7: George Gautrey
- ILCA 6: Olivia Christie
S-W: As mentioned in the report, NZ will apparently not be represented in the Mixed 470 class, which replaced the Mens and Womens 470 class (two-person dinghy) for the 2024 Olympic Regatta. The Mens and Womens was a strong performer for NZ, yielding one Gold and two Silver medals (Womens) an several top five placings (Men). The change was made to allow the introduction of Mens and Womens Formula Kite event, in place of the combined Kite event that was originally proposed.
Also new to the 2024 Olympic line-up is the iQFoil which replaces the RS:X Windsurfer. The Windsurfing events (Men and Women) have been New Zealand's most successful Olympic event winning 3 Gold medals , 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. NZ last won a medal in this event in 2008. New Zealand only entered the Mens RS:X at the 2012 Olympics, and was not represented in the Windsurfer at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic regattas.
Also dropped from the 2024 lineup is the Finn class (in which New Zealand has won a Gold and two Bronze medals) to accommodate World Sailing's view of gender equality in the Olympic classes. Most sports have chosen to split their events equally between Men and Women with no Mixed events.
New Zealand ranks 9th on the Sailing medal list, with the first Gold medal being won at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
In the current line-up 50% of the classes are now foilers.
The 2024 Olympic Regatta is expected to see many established sailors retire - partially as a reaction to the change in events, but also as many have sailed in three occasionally four Olympics, and are moving on. Only three of the 12 sailors named for the Pre-Olympics represented New Zealand at Tokyo2020, sailed less than two years ago.
The World Sailing Championships (near Open entry) to be held in The Hague are the primary Olympic Qualifier for "developed" sailing nations, where the sailors will attempt to qualify their country for the 2024 Olympic Regatta in that class. Once Qualified it is up to the National Authority of that country to make its selection, based on their own selection criteria which varies from country to country. Included in that selection is the option to not send anyone at all, due to not meeting internal National Olympic Committee selection criteria.