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Paris 2024 Olympic Games
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Paris Olympics: what to know and who to watch out for during the sailing competition

  • The US team will be out to regain their dominance through veterans Stu McNay and six-time kitesurfing world champion Daniela Moroz

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Tokyo Olympian Lara Dallman-Weiss (left) will team up with Stu McNay, who is back for his fith Olympics, for the US in the new mixed-gender 470 category in Paris. Photo: AP
Associated Press

Hong Kong are sending five athletes to Marseille to take part in the sailing events, and windsurfers Cheng Ching-yin and Ma Kwan-ching carry the weight of history on their shoulders.

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The city’s first Olympic gold ever was won by their predecessor Lee Lai-shan at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, and this year Cheng and Ma will try to follow in her footsteps in the iQFoil event.

Athletes to watch

Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (Brazil): They won gold medals at the past two Olympics in the women’s skiff known as 49erFX.

Stu McNay (United States): The 42-year-old McNay has competed in the past four Olympics and will race in Marseille in the mixed dinghy known as 470 together with Lara Dallman-Weiss. They will face stiff competition from Spain’s Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman, who used to compete for the US.

Daniela Moroz will lead the US challenge in kiteboarding, which is contested at such wild speeds that the athletes say the waves and the wind become muted. Photo: AP
Daniela Moroz will lead the US challenge in kiteboarding, which is contested at such wild speeds that the athletes say the waves and the wind become muted. Photo: AP

Daniela Moroz (US): The San Francisco native has won six world championships in kitesurfing.

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Luuc van Opzeeland (Netherlands): The 25-year-old Dutchman is the reigning world champion in men’s windsurfing-iQFoil.

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