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Hungarian sailors Mária Érdi and Jonatán Vadnai have received their Olympic racing boats in Marseille, the venue for the Paris Olympics sailing events.
Both athletes will compete in the Summer Olympics using boats provided by the organizing committee, ensuring a level playing field despite minimal differences between boats. Ms. Érdi, a world and European champion, will compete in ILCA 6, while Mr. Vadnai, a European silver medalist, will compete in ILCA 7. During the following week of training, they will have to familiarize themselves with the new boats.
The Laser is a class, used in the Olympic events is a single-handed, one-design sailing dinghy, designed by Ian Bruce and Bruce Kirby in 1970 for simplicity and performance. It uses a common hull with three interchangeable rigs to suit different wind conditions and sailor weights. The ILCA 7 (Laser Standard) has a 7.06 m² sail and has been the men’s Olympic singlehanded dinghy since 1996. The ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) has a 5.76 m² sail and became the women’s Olympic singlehanded dinghy in 2008.
Symbol of the Laser Class. Photo: Wikipedia
András Holczhauser, Secretary General of the Hungarian Sailing Federation, highlighted the sailors’ decade-long preparation involving 4-5 hours of daily training and noted their significant international success.
Photo: Facebook / Magyar Vitorlás Szövetség
He expressed hope for their achievements at the Olympics and mentioned the increased attention on sailing following the recent Blue Ribbon (Kékszalag) race, organized on Lake Balaton. However, he emphasized the difference between lake racing and the Olympic event in Marseille’s bay.
The Hungarian sailors will begin competing on August 1, with the final medal race scheduled for August 6.
Via MTI; Featured Image: Facebook / Team Hungary