Austria's Valentin Bontus wins gold in men's kitesurfing to conclude Olympic sailing in Marseille

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Valentin Bontus of Austria took gold after winning two finals races Friday in men’s kitesurfing, the new, fastest sport at the Summer Olympics, whose medals bring to a close sailing competitions in Marseille.

Toni Vodisek of Slovenia got silver while Max Maeder of Singapore won bronze in finals that had been repeatedly postponed because the breeze was too light.

Vodisek, Maeder, Bontus and Riccardo Pianosi of Italy all entered the finals races originally scheduled for Thursday.

In kitesurfing finals, the gold goes to whomever scoops up three wins first — Vodisek, ranked first, only needed one win, but Bontus won the first final race late Thursday afternoon. Since no race can start later than 5:37 p.m., the next competition was pushed back to Friday.

During the first final race on Friday afternoon, Bontus kept an early lead and sped through the finish line, setting himself up to starting the next final race with two wins like Vodisek. He then sped through the last race for the medal.

Kitesurfing has a more complicated scoring system than other sailing classes.

The races are much shorter, too — less than 10 minutes usually, foiling at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) — eclipsing even the sprints of track cyclists — while harnessed to kites as large as 23 square meters.

The first kitesurfing Olympic gold medal ever was awarded to Ellie Aldridge of Britain on Thursday.

Fickle winds and high temperatures in Marseille have wreaked havoc with the program and tested athletes’ endurance ever since the regattas for the first of the 10 sailing events started on July 28.

Some champions reconfirmed their dominance, while others endured heartbreaking losses in the changing, unpredictable conditions at these 2024 Olympics.

Overall in these races, the Netherlands won the most medals, with two golds and two bronzes. Italy and Austria also had two golds.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games