Paris Olympics Set Sail in Marseille, France for 13 American Athletes
by Allison Chenard 28 Jul 2024 02:43 AEST
July 28 - August 8, 2024
The US Sailing Team together at the Olympic Rings in Paris during the Team USA Welcome Experience before the start of the Games © Allison Chenard / US Sailing Team
Over the course of 12 days, 13 American athletes in nine classes will take to the Bay of Marseille for competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, following a shortened runway of three years due to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.
Against a dramatic backdrop of rocky Calanques and the classic city of Marseille, athletes will battle for the podium on the biggest stage in international sport. Sailing fans watching from the U.S. will be able to follow the racing both live and on replay through NBC's Peacock streaming service, starting at 6:00 AM EDT on July 28 (3:00 AM PDT) with the Women's Windsurfing events featuring USA's Dominique Stater.
"We've had a fantastic final training block and settling period here in Marseille leading up to day one tomorrow, and I've been so impressed with the drive and work ethic that I've seen in each athlete," said Marcus Lynch, USST High Performance Director and Paris 2024 Team Leader. "Athletes are dialed in on their programs and processes. We have an impressive support team of nearly 30 people spread across the discipline coaches and support staff backing them through 12 days of racing. It takes a village first to get here to get here and then to succeed, and I'm confident we have a great one on site in Marseille. Now it's time to trust the training, do what we know, and take it one race at a time."
65 of the best sailing nations in the world are set to compete in Marseille, with over 250 boats and boards sailed by 330 athletes. After days of settling in the Team USA base, rigging boats, and practicing on the Bay of Marseille, athletes are locked in and ready for racing that begins tomorrow.
Paris 2024 is the third time sailing will make an appearance at a French Olympics, with previous competitions first in 1900 and then in 1924. However, it will be the first Games with events in Marseille, which was chosen specifically for its epic conditions and characteristic "Mistral" wind that is guaranteed to provide a show when it funnels through the Rhône Valley and French plains.
Paris 2024 will also make history: for the first time in the modern Olympic era, the games will have gender parity among athletes, with an equal number of male and female athletes on the field of play. Sailing is no exception, having added the Men's and Women's Formula Kite events and shifting the 470 to a mixed event in order to achieve equality on the water.
The US Sailing Team is entering this Games as the second-most successful Olympic Sailing Team in history, having won 61 medals since the inception of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. The team is close behind Great Britain, trailing by three medals. Will this year be the chance to close the gap and take back the title of history's most successful sailing team?
Covering all the action on NBC's sailing broadcast will be veteran commentator Gary Jobson, who will be on the stream from 6am EDT to 1pm EDT each day. There will be two televised race areas per day, on the "Corniche" and "Marseille" courses. As the classes rotate through those two areas day to day, different athletes will be featured on the broadcast. The full broadcast schedule is below.
NBC Digital Streaming Links & Complete Coverage Information: