Paris 2024 – Men’s Windsurfing: Jury Grants Redress to Renna for Second Race Incident
On the evening of July 30th, a crucial protest was lodged by the Italian team regarding a broken boom that affected Nicolò Renna during Race 2. After an intense two-and-a-half-hour session, involving deliberations and additional hearings, the jury reached a significant verdict at 22:15, impacting the overall standings.
Incident Overview
During the third leg of the second race in the afternoon, Renna, who was positioned around 15th place, experienced a failure with his boom—equipment provided by the Olympic organizers. This malfunction led to difficulties in both the second and third races, resulting in two DNFs (Did Not Finish), severely affecting his overall ranking. Technical Director Michele Marchesini decided to file a protest covering both races. The Italian team argued on the grounds of sportsmanship and technical fairness, even requesting detailed specifications of the carbon boom’s lamination to verify stress points.
Jury Decision
The jury acknowledged that the Organizing Authority (Paris 2024) acted improperly concerning the second men’s windsurfing race. They awarded Renna an average score for all slalom races in the opening series, excluding the second race. This average score of 10.3 points brought Renna back into a competitive position, just below the virtual podium.
Details of the Protest
During Race 2, between buoys 2 and 3 of the slalom course, Renna’s boom broke at the port side connection, causing a capsize and preventing him from finishing. Despite receiving a replacement boom within four minutes, the process and navigating around the women’s race area hindered his reentry.
In Race 3, starting with winds between 7-14 knots and flat seas, Renna reported another boom issue and withdrew shortly after the start. Despite these setbacks, he competed in races 4, 5, and 6 with the replacement boom, finishing 4th, 2nd, and 5th, respectively.
The jury concluded that the boom failure in Race 2 was due to an improper action by the Organizing Authority, satisfying the requirements of RRS 62.1(a). Therefore, Renna was granted redress for Race 2, calculated based on the average points of all slalom races in the opening series, excluding the second race itself.
However, for Race 3, the jury determined that Renna was partially responsible for his performance decline, denying him redress under RRS 62.1.
Statement from Technical Director Michele Marchesini
“We achieved a significant victory that keeps Renna in the running. Normally, such appeals are not accepted at the Olympics due to the rule system’s structure. The values of sport prevailed today, and we look forward to returning to the water and showing our skills between the buoys.”
Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Events
The sailing events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will feature athletes competing in ten different disciplines:
- Men’s Windsurfing (iQFOiL M): Nicolò Renna
- Women’s Windsurfing (iQFOiL F): Marta Maggetti
- Men’s Dinghy (ILCA 7): Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini
- Women’s Dinghy (ILCA 6): Chiara Benini Floriani
- Men’s Kite (Formula Kite M): Riccardo Pianosi
- Women’s Kite (Formula Kite W): Maggie Eillen Pescetto
- Women’s Skiff (49er:FX): Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi
- Men’s Skiff (49er): No Italian crew present
- Mixed Dinghy (470 MIX): Elena Berta and Bruno Festo
- Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17): Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Banti
Technical Staff in Marseille
- Technical Director: Michele Marchesini
- Coaches on Water: Luca De Pedrini, Adriano Stella, Egon Vigna, Gabriele Bruni, Gianfranco Sibello, Simone Vannucci, Giorgio Poggi
- Team Manager: Guglielmo Vatteroni
- Boat Care: Mauro Zamichele
- Medical Staff: Giacomo Cappè, Francesco Sartori
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