What are the new Olympic sailing classes at Paris 2024?

Paris 2024 will see a significant change to the sailing programme with an equal number of male and female sailors for the first time in Olympic history.

Where there had been limited changes between Rio and Tokyo, this time around just three events will remain completely unchanged from three years ago.

The 49er and 49erFX class – men’s skiff and women’s skiff – will stay as they were, as will the Nacra 17, a mixed foiling catamaran event.

In the dinghy events, the Laser and Laser Radial class have been rebadged as the ILCA 7, for the men, and ILCA 6, for the women.

What’s new?

Meanwhile, for the windsurfers, there has been a change as the iQFOiL has replaced the RS:X. Many of those who excelled in RS:X will compete for Olympic gold in the men’s and women’s iQFOiL.

This has seen a change of equipment where the daggerboard on the RS:X is replaced by a foil. The result is boards which look like they are flying rather than merely floating, with the competitors travelling even faster than before.

The one class to disappear altogether is the Finn class, which had been part of the sailing programme since 1952. The new longest-serving class is the 470, but that has also undergone a change from Tokyo.

Where the double-handed dinghy event was previously split into men’s and women’s classes, Paris 2024 will be the first time that it will be raced as a mixed competition.

 

What about Formula Kite?

Last, but not least, Paris 2024 will see the introduction of Formula Kite, perhaps the most exciting class of all, also split into men’s and women’s events.

Kite foiling is in fact one of the fastest sports of all at Paris 2024, with athletes able to reach speeds of 45 knots, more than 80km/h.

Powered by large kites, the riders are attached with a harness while they can control the kite with a hand bar.

While there are seven new events on the schedule, iQFOiL and Formula Kite are considered the two new classes on the programme.

And the new classes provide some added intrigue with a different format to the traditional sailing classes.

Both feature medal series, but rather than just having a medal race which is worth double points to finish, they have separate medal series which decide the podium.

As a result, in both iQFOiL and Formula Kite, the identity of the winner of the gold medal cannot be known ahead of the final race of competition.