Paris 2024: Wilkinson, Dawson Make History With Brilliant Bronze

Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson claimed New Zealand's second sailing medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and broke a 36-year drought when they won bronze in the mixed multihull event.

And while it didn't happen in quite the way they had hoped, securing the coveted silverware only a few months after their campaign seemed to be running out of puff faster than the Marseille summer makes their achievement more special than they had ever imagined.

On Thursday, the Kiwi Nacra 17 crew finished third overall, crossing the finish line in eighth place in their medal race, which was sailed in marginal conditions.

Yet what the race lacked in breeze, it more than made up for in drama.

The Kiwis, who were fourth overall heading into the double-points final, needed to beat the British crew of John Gimson and Anna Burnet to win bronze, and also finish at least three boats ahead of Argentina's Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco for silver. However, the focus of the race changed sensationally when Gimson and Burnet were disqualified for a premature start.

"We saw the British being sent back halfway down the first beat, and while there was a very brief moment of relief, our attention quickly turned to making sure we finished the race in time," Wilkinson said.

With the wind barely reaching 5 knots and a time limit of 40 minutes to complete the race, there was a real chance of a restart.

"We knew we were up against the clock, so we just had to stay focused on making it to the end. We've been in Marseille for over two months now, so we know the breeze is extremely unpredictable. We've had a race abandoned, and other fleets have had plenty of races abandoned this week - so we just wanted to keep our heads in the game, not get ahead of ourselves, and finish the race," Wilkinson said.

"We still wanted to beat the Argentinians for silver, and we fought hard for it, but we just weren't good enough. It wasn't pretty, but when we crossed the line and knew we had that medal... we were just so happy."

The disappointment of missing out on a top-10 spot at the world championships in La Grande Motte in May, as well as the silver success of teammates Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie in the men's skiff (49er) last week, fuelled their performance, Dawson said.

"Not even making the medal race at the worlds hurt, and we really wanted to be a strong team throughout this regatta. I am most proud of the way we put it together this week. I don't think we've ever sailed better. Seeing the boys (McHardie and McKenzie) win silver also gave us that extra little boost and made us believe it was possible."

The bronze is the second medal the team has achieved on the international stage, with silver at the European championships in 2022 being their only other podium finish.

It is also the first time since Rex Sellers and Chris Timms in Seoul in 1988 that a Kiwi crew has managed to win an Olympic medal in the catamaran class.

Wilkinson and Dawson finished 12th at the Tokyo Games after a build-up derailed by injury when Dawson broke her leg in a training accident only a month before the start of the competition.

"This time has definitely been a lot smoother, and to win a medal here means so much to us, especially after what happened in Tokyo. We've put so much hard work into it, along with our incredible coach Anton (Paz), and for it all to just come together at the right time... we're so happy," Dawson said.

The duo will celebrate with family and friends who have made the trip to Marseille before they both head to Barcelona - Dawson to compete for Emirates Team New Zealand in the inaugural women's America's Cup, and Wilkinson to support her.

"Our whole team and our families have stuck it out this week for us in some pretty hot conditions, so we're going to go and enjoy a nice, ice-cold beer with them and just thank everyone who's been involved in our campaign," Wilkinson said.

"To the people back home who stayed up to follow our races, thank you. It means everything to us."

Final results and standings at the Olympic sailing event in Marseille:

Men's skiff fleet (20 boats)
1. Diego Botin/Florian Trittel (Esp) (16) 6 4 5 11 2 3 2 2 15 12 6 2 - 70 pts
2. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (NZ) 1 3 8 8 1 1 11 (18) 17 1 10 15 6 - 82 pts
3. Ian Barrows/Hans Henken (USA) 8 7 (17) 9 9 5 10 7 3 2 8 12 8 - 88 pts

Women's skiff fleet (20 boats)
1. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz (Ned) 5 1 1 10 8 5 (19) 3 2 15 4 14 6 - 74 pts
2. Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler (Swe) 14 6 15 4 15 10 2 1 5 1 1 (17) 2 - 76 pts
3. Sarah Steyaert/Charline Picon (Fra) 2 2 2 8 2 2 12 11 10 (18) 6 10 12 - 79 pts
7. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (NZ) 15 17 20 9 17 8 3 2 1 14 8 7 8 - 109 pts

Men's windsurfing fleet (24 boards)
1. Tom Reuveny (Isr) 8 13 5 3 3 4 (25BFD) 3 5 13 (15) 4 2 2 1 - 66 pts
2. Grae Morris (Aus) (13) (25DNS) 10 9 1 7 2 1 9 2 4 7 8 2 - 62 pts
3. Luuc van Opzeeland (Ned) (25BFD) 9 2 1 6 1 3 (25DSQ) 11 14 15 1 6 1 1 3 -74 pts
4. Josh Armit (NZ) 4 (18) 1 14 8 (25UFD) 11 2 6 4 2 3 11 3 - 69 pts

Women's windsurfing fleet (24 boards)
1. Marta Maggetti (Ita) 5 3 4 (20) 11 4 3 8 4 4 4 (15) 11 9 2 1 - 73 pts
2. Sharon Kantor (Isr) (25DSQ) 6 10 1 1 3 4 2 (15) 1 2 6 2 11 1 2 - 52 pts
3. Emma Wilson (GBR) 1 2 1 2 (17) 1 1 1 1 (3) 1 1 3 3 3 - 21 pts
10. Veerle ten Have (NZ) (25DSQ) 15 16 8 (18) 5 12 11 3 5 3 2 16 13 7 - 116 pts

Men's dinghy fleet (43 boats)
1. Matt Wearn (Aus) 12 2 1 (18) 1 2 10 10 2 - 40 pts
2. Pavlos Kontides (Cyp) 17 5 (27) 5 10 5 3 7 4 - 56 pts
3. Stefano Peschiera (Per) 6 1 14 11 (20) 14 12 4 18 - 80 pts
7. Tom Saunders (NZ) 11 17 10 7 19 3 (44BFD) 13 10 - 90 pts

Women's dinghy fleet (43 boats)
1. Marit Bouwmeester (Ned) 4 1 2 4 2 3 3 11 (20) 8 - 38 pts
2. Anne-Marie Rindom (Den) 7 (26) 7 2 8 4 15 4 4 10 - 61 pts
3. Line Flem Hoest (Nor) 11 3 (19) 19 7 2 12 14 3 4 - 75 pts
34. Greta Pilkington (NZ) 21 34 (41) 15 33 18 17 21 40 - 199 pts

Men's kite fleet (20 boards)
1. Toni Vodisek (Slo) 2 5 1 3 (10) 1 (12) - 12 pts
2. Max Maeder (SGP) 5 1 2 (21DNF) 3 (11) 4 - 15 pts
3. Valentin Bontus (Aut) 1 2 5 (8) 4 5 (20) - 17 pts
15. Lukas Walton-Keim (NZ) 12 (18) 13 10 17 9 (18) - 61 pts

Women's kite fleet (20 boards)
1. Lauriane Nolot (Fra) 2 1 (12) 2 6 1 - 12 pts
2. Eleanor Aldridge (GBR) 1 2 2 3 4 (21DNS) - 12 pts
3. Daniela Moroz (USA) (7) 3 4 1 2 7 - 17 pts
17. Justina Kitchen (NZ) 9 10 (21DNF) 16 18 21DNS - 74 pts

Mixed multihull fleet (19 boats)
1. Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti (Ita) 1 1 2 1 1 1 6 6 (20UFD) 5 2 4 - 31 pts
2. Mateo Majdalani/Eugenia Bosco (Arg) 2 2 5 10 6 6 3 2 2 1 2 (12) 14 - 55 pts
3. Micah Wilkinson/Erica Dawson (NZ) 5 3 7 2 2 3 2 4 9 (17) 3 7 16 - 63 pts

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