Paris (AFP)

Qualified for the Olympic sailing event in the Nacra 17 catamaran, whose regattas begin on Wednesday in Enoshima, Manon Audinet and Quentin Delapierre hope for nothing more "than a medal" in this discipline which aims to be more spectacular.

The return of the flying boats: attractions of the last edition of the Vendée Globe, the round-the-world sailing solo and non-stop, the "foils" make their appearance at the Games.

These fins under the hull, which give the impression that the boat is flying over the water, are a major argument of the new spectacle that sailing wants to offer in Tokyo and a new deal that the French duo want to exploit.

Among the ten Olympic sailing series, only the Nacra 17, a catamaran of about five meters, already present in 2016 in Rio, has this innovation.

For the Paris-2024 Olympics, whose sailing events will be held in Marseille, windsurfing will also be equipped with a foil.

"The foils have changed a lot of things, especially in the second part of the regattas, facing the wind. It requires a lot of explosiveness and coordination between the helmsman and the crew," Manon Audinet told AFP.

- Carrier wind -

The two sailors will live their first Olympic experience, at the age of 29 and less than three years after joining forces in the Nacra 17. Their rapid rise, to become vice-European champions in October 2020, has shaken up the hierarchy. of this category, then dominated in France by Billy Besson and Marie Riou, present in Rio.

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Quentin Delapierre even discovered the boat two years ago, even if he already has solid references with two victories in the Tour de France sailing, in 2016 and 2018. Manon Audinet is much more familiar with the boat, and already had won a European silver medal in Nacra 17 in 2013.

"In the race, the tasks are distributed. Quentin is more to stick his head and do the tactics, I have to take care of the settings. Afterwards, we communicate all the time, and we can reverse the roles when the opportunity ask, it's rather easy, ”explains Manon Audinet.

"We sometimes exchange our places during training to realize the experience of the other", continues Quentin Delapierre.

Among the 20 crews, the French are among the contenders for a medal on the Enoshima basin, a small island located an hour by train from Tokyo where they had struck a big blow by winning a World Cup in August 2019.

They face them in particular the Argentine duo Santiago Lange / Cecilia Carranza Saroli, who will try to keep their title acquired in Rio.

- Open to the general public -

Since 2019, few competitions have taken place and even if training, relocated to the Canary Islands, could continue during the second confinement, the competition benchmarks are missing and the last official, in the waters near Santander in early May, ended with a 7th place.

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An Olympic medal would allow the duo to take on another stature and continue to raise awareness of Olympic sailing competitions.

"Before, access to foils was elitist, today it is also found for the general public. Sportingly, we have changed era in our sport, we are in the democratization phase", wants to believe Quentin Delapierre.

Both are supporting this development with a greater presence on social networks and with polished videos to raise awareness of their discipline.

"We try to be inspired by surfing. We share a lot of values, we evolve in the same environment but we are not as competent as them to provide the sporting experience. We try to show people what makes us feel good. interested in performance, ”explains the coxswain.

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