Gold medallists Ruggero Tita (L) and Catarina Marianna Banti of Italy react during the victory ceremony of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
MARSEILLE, France, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti of Italy retained their Olympic title in the mixed multihull (Nacra 17) of sailing with a dazzling display in Marseille on Thursday, while Austria's Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mahr put in the performance of their lives to win gold in the mixed dinghy (470).
Heading into the medal race, Tita and Banti had at least a silver locked up, but they were eager to defend their Olympic title.
Argentina's Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco placed seventh in the medal race, which meant they settled for a superb silver in the Nacra 17 class. New Zealand's Micah James Wilkinson and Erica Linda Dawson came eighth in the medal race, which was enough to take the bronze.
"We are proud of what we achieved during this period. It's all about the work that we put in together over three years and won world championships. We are happy, but we knew it was going to be hard to win it again," Tita said.
In the 470 class, Vadlau and Mahr lagged at the back of the fleet at the start of the final race, but recovered to move forward and cross the line in seventh, which was enough to secure Austria's first Olympic gold in sailing since 2004.
Japan's Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka crossed the line in third to secure a silver. Sweden's Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Karlsson moved up to take a bronze after finishing fourth in the medal race.
"It feels very unrealistic still to have won a gold medal. We are still not ready to show all the emotions, we are still in racing mode a bit. It's a big medal for us to give back to our country because we have a long sailing tradition and we've had wonderful sailors, successful sailors who are all cheering for us and helped us a lot in our last campaigns," Mahr said.
Later in the day, Britain's Eleanor Aldridge made history by becoming the first ever athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in Formula Kite. France's Lauriane Nolot claimed the silver, while the Netherlands' Annelous Lammerts took bronze.
"It all came down to today, and I am really happy that I managed to hold it all together and win two races. My goal was to medal, and I knew that if I had the right week I could win, everything was going to have to align," Aldridge said.
The men's kite final among Slovenia's Toni Vodisek, Singapore's Maximilian Maeder, Italy's Riccardo Pianosi and Austria's Valentin Bontus was postponed to August 9 due to time limitations. ■
Silver medallists Mateo Majdalani (1st L) and Eugenia Bosco (2nd L) of Argentina, gold medallists Ruggero Tita (3rd L) and Catarina Marianna Banti (3rd R) of Italy and bronze medallists Micah Wilkinson (2nd R) and Erica Dawson (1st R) of New Zealand pose for photos during the victory ceremony of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Athletes set off during the medal race of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Lou Banti of Italy (L) compete during the medal race of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Silver medalists Mateo Majdalani (L) and Eugenia Bosco of Argentina react during the victory ceremony of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Bronze medallists Micah Wilkinson (2nd R) and Erica Dawson (1st R) of New Zealand attend the victory ceremony of the mixed multihull of the sailing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Marseille Marina in Marseille, France, Aug. 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
