Team GB’s Emma Wilson settles for second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in delayed women’s windsurfing final after dominating earlier rounds
- British sailor Emma Wilson won a bronze medal in the women’s windsurfing event
- Gold went to Italy’s Marta Maggetti, while Israel’s Sharon Kantor took silver
- Wilson has now won two bronze medals in a row after also finishing third in Tokyo
Emma Wilson had to settle for her second consecutive Olympic bronze medal after a dramatic loss in the women’s windsurfing final off the coast of Marseille on Saturday.
The 25-year-old dominated the qualifying process, winning eight of the 14 races and was a big favourite to win his first major title.
But despite Wilson holding a small lead halfway through the race, he finished well behind eventual winner Marta Maggetti of Italy, while Israel’s Sharon Kantor took silver.
The final was postponed from Friday due to light winds and Wilson had to watch her rivals try to adapt to the conditions in the quarter-finals and semi-finals that immediately preceded the medal match.
Wilson, whose mother Penny also represented Team GB in windsurfing at the Olympics, has dominated her discipline since Tokyo but has run afoul of a new rule that increases the risk in her class. It effectively means that qualifying results do not count towards the final.
British sailor Emma Wilson, 25, won the second medal of her Olympic career on Saturday
Wilson must settle for another bronze after Saturday’s final was won by Italy’s Marta Maggetti
Wilson was disappointed with the outcome of Saturday’s final after winning the previous rounds
She was photographed with her head in her hands immediately after the final race of the event
If the previous Olympic rules had still been in place – as they apply to all sailing classes except the brand new kitesurfing discipline in Marseille – she would have gone into the final knowing she had already secured her gold medal.
Maggetti had finished third in the qualifying standings and had only finished ahead of Wilson in one of the fourteen races.
Wilson’s teammate Sam Sills, who qualified fifth for the quarter-finals, fought his way through to the semi-finals, where he finished fourth and last and failed to progress to the final.