Australia has secured its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s dinghy (laser) sailing, as sailor Matt Wearn successfully defended his Tokyo gold in light conditions at Marseille on Wednesday afternoon.
The country’s impressive streak began at the London 2012 Olympics with Tom Slingsby, followed by Tom Burton’s gold at Rio 2016. Currently 28, Wearn first won gold in this class at the Tokyo Games three years ago and confidently sailed to victory again in the final to reclaim the title. He has made history as the first man to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the dinghy class.
However, Wearn had to wait for his medal; the final race was initially set for Tuesday but was postponed to Wednesday due to a lack of wind at the Marseille marina. Wearn looked comfortable midway through an initial medal race until race organizers decided to abandon it due to a significant wind shift. At last, in the late afternoon on Wednesday, Wearn took to the water again for the medal race.
Wearn’s skill across eight qualifying races earned him a 14-point lead over Cyprus’s Pavlos Kontides, ensuring he would at least secure a silver medal in Marseille. Displaying his dominance, Wearn executed a smart performance to win the race and clinch the gold medal.
For Kontides to surpass Wearn’s lead, he needed to finish seven places ahead, but the Cypriot ultimately placed just behind the two-time Olympic champion, taking home the silver medal. Meanwhile, Peru’s Stefano Peschiera secured the bronze.
Kontides got off to a slight lead over Wearn in the early stages, rounding the first marker in second place, seven seconds ahead of the Australian. Wearn slipped a position on the way to the second marker, but a clever tack around the third marker allowed him to overtake Kontides, who seemed to protest, although it was to no effect.
That maneuver propelled Wearn into the lead, which he maintained through the final downwind section to the fourth mark before finishing cleanly to secure the medal race victory and the overall gold.
Wearn is the first Australian sailor to defend an Olympic title since Mal Page achieved back-to-back victories in the 470 class at the Beijing and London Games with different crewmates. Earlier this week in Marseille, Australia’s Grae Morris earned a silver medal in men’s windsurfing.
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Wednesday’s victory marks Australia’s 15th gold medal of the Olympics; the nation’s record for gold medals in a single Olympics is 17, previously achieved in 2004 at the Athens Games and again at Tokyo 2020. Four days of competition remain in Paris.
